Here are some of the most common reasons behind COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy – KCRA Sacramento

Sacramento County officials said the number of people choosing not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is concerning as the delta variant fuels an uptick in cases. About 47% of the county's population was fully vaccinated as of Thursday, according to county officials. KCRA 3 looked into the reasons why some people are holding off on getting the shot.One Sacramento resident, who did not want to be identified publicly, said he is waiting for the vaccines to get the full Food and Drug Administration approval instead of just the current emergency-use authorization."Mostly just for safety concerns," he said. " I just want it to be held to the same standard as all the other vaccines that are out there, just been waiting for that to happen."He said he is not against vaccines in general and is still taking other precautions against COVID-19 in the meantime, like wearing a mask. When it comes to others who have not gotten the shot yet, a study from UC San Francisco focused on young people, ages 18 to 25, across the country. An analysis of data from March found that among 5,082 respondents, 83% said they had not been vaccinated. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of them said they were unlikely to get it in the future. "Young adults have the lowest vaccination rates. They also have the highest COVID infection rates," said Sally Adams, the lead author of the study.The study reveals the most common reasons for young people to reject the vaccine or delay getting it were to wait and see if it is safe and concerns over side effects. "There are many more side effects of the COVID long-haul symptoms that people have from the infection than there are from the side effects of getting the vaccine," Adams said.At the time the young adults were surveyed in March, 17% had received a COVID-19 vaccine. About 76% of those said they would "probably" or "definitely" get a shot once it was available. Those who said they would probably or definitely not get vaccinated were more likely to say they did not trust it, were not a member of a high-risk group or believe that COVID-19 was a serious illness. Dr. Jason Nagata is a co-author of the study and a pediatrician in San Francisco."One thing I've seen as a doctor is young people have really been affected the most by mental health issues during the pandemic due to social isolation and in order to reverse that, they really need to get vaccinated so they can go back to their normal routines," Nagata said.They said the data points to the need for more public education that will specifically address those concerns young people have and suggest using social media to reach that young audience. Some vaccine hesitancy at hot spots in the northern part of Sacramento County has been the result of misinformation on social media, Sacramento County Public Health Officer Olivia Kasirye said Thursday.

Sacramento County officials said the number of people choosing not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is concerning as the delta variant fuels an uptick in cases.

About 47% of the county's population was fully vaccinated as of Thursday, according to county officials. KCRA 3 looked into the reasons why some people are holding off on getting the shot.

One Sacramento resident, who did not want to be identified publicly, said he is waiting for the vaccines to get the full Food and Drug Administration approval instead of just the current emergency-use authorization.

"Mostly just for safety concerns," he said. " I just want it to be held to the same standard as all the other vaccines that are out there, just been waiting for that to happen."

He said he is not against vaccines in general and is still taking other precautions against COVID-19 in the meantime, like wearing a mask.

When it comes to others who have not gotten the shot yet, a study from UC San Francisco focused on young people, ages 18 to 25, across the country. An analysis of data from March found that among 5,082 respondents, 83% said they had not been vaccinated. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of them said they were unlikely to get it in the future.

"Young adults have the lowest vaccination rates. They also have the highest COVID infection rates," said Sally Adams, the lead author of the study.

The study reveals the most common reasons for young people to reject the vaccine or delay getting it were to wait and see if it is safe and concerns over side effects.

"There are many more side effects of the COVID long-haul symptoms that people have from the infection than there are from the side effects of getting the vaccine," Adams said.

At the time the young adults were surveyed in March, 17% had received a COVID-19 vaccine. About 76% of those said they would "probably" or "definitely" get a shot once it was available.

Those who said they would probably or definitely not get vaccinated were more likely to say they did not trust it, were not a member of a high-risk group or believe that COVID-19 was a serious illness.

Dr. Jason Nagata is a co-author of the study and a pediatrician in San Francisco.

"One thing I've seen as a doctor is young people have really been affected the most by mental health issues during the pandemic due to social isolation and in order to reverse that, they really need to get vaccinated so they can go back to their normal routines," Nagata said.

They said the data points to the need for more public education that will specifically address those concerns young people have and suggest using social media to reach that young audience.

Some vaccine hesitancy at hot spots in the northern part of Sacramento County has been the result of misinformation on social media, Sacramento County Public Health Officer Olivia Kasirye said Thursday.

More here:

Here are some of the most common reasons behind COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy - KCRA Sacramento