In total, no less than 39% of young people surveyed claim to have been tested during the second wave of the coronavirus. And 40% of them say they have been diagnosed positive.
A much greater proportion than in the other age groups and which is indicative of a more risky behavior on the part of people who, precisely, run the least risk in terms of health. A behavior which will encourage a large part of them (48%) not to be vaccinated in the coming months. One in three even think that the vaccine will be ineffective.
“The fact that nearly one in two young people do not want to be vaccinated is problematic because it could undermine the national vaccination strategy “, confides Sophie Lucas, immunologist at the Institut de Duve at UCLouvain. “These young people probably believe that they should not be vaccinated because they are not part of the risk categories. They therefore do not feel concerned. I can understand it. But it is a mistake because, even if it is rare , it happens that young people are severely affected by the coronavirus and that some die from it. Finally, too few of them have already had the Covid to be able to consider being protected without a vaccine. “
According to the immunology expert, young people must also participate in the collective effort. “The goal of this vaccine is not only to protect yourself, it is also to protect others, confirms Sophie Lucas. Although it is not yet known whether getting the vaccine will also prevent the spread of the virus, it is known that the vaccine prevents the severe form of the disease, the one that kills. This can only be beneficial to society. It is therefore important that a large part of the population, including young people, get vaccinated. “
* The barometer, the main results of which we are showing you, was commissioned by La Derniere Heure, La Libre and L’Avenir, and was produced by Dedicated. This survey was carried out among 706 Walloons and 298 Brussels residents aged 18 and over, via the Internet. The selection of respondents was carried out via the Internet in compliance with quotas based on the main socio-demographic criteria (gender, age, etc.) and distributed in a representative manner between the provinces of Wallonia and the municipalities of the Brussels-Capital region. The margin of error is ± 3.1.