Why Are Young People The Scapegoats for Covid?
The general consensus of the past year has been to ‘protect the elderly and vulnerable’ – we did just that. Whilst Dave and Sheila braved rush hour Asda without a mask, we diligently stayed home to ‘protect the NHS.’ Since ‘freedom day’ in July, COVID ICU patients have gotten ‘younger and younger’…why does nobody seem to care?
Latest figures show that young people are increasingly likely to suffer long COVID, with those aged between 18 and 34 constituting a fifth of hospital admissions, and young to middle-aged women the most likely group to be affected by long-COVID symptoms.
Young people were undeniably disproportionately affected by the so-called ‘pingdemic’, as COVID absolutely steamrolled through social circles throughout the country. Millions of young people have been called to self-isolate numerous times over the past couple of months and with the government’s u-turn on extending sick pay, the young (often low-paid) workers who prop up the gig economy and customer service industries have faced severe economic blows. After someone I work with tested positive for COVID, I faced a week’s unpaid leave: not being entitled to the self-isolation payment as I’m a student nor SSP as I didn’t have an official notice, I was left panicking about making rent.
Despite thousands of 18 to 21 year olds queuing outside walk-in centres when we were first called for our jabs, uptake has slowed for under 30s with varying reasons for avoiding the jab. Medical misinformation surrounding the vaccine – varying from fears that the vaccine affects fertility to only the vulnerable needing immunisation – may be the biggest cause. After all, we’re most likely to be scrolling past tweets which describe awful menstrual disturbances and fake Instagram infographics. We’re accustomed to having a wealth of information at our fingertips and doing little to acquire it. Coupled with the rampant fear mongering amongst the media and online over the past 18 months, naturally, people are less inclined to fact-check this stuff.
Why is it that nobody seems to care?
I spoke with Priya, a master’s student and young professional from London. She described the chronic fatigue and muscle cramps she’s experienced daily since testing positive for COVID on the 8th of August. ‘The doctors prescribed me codeine for my nerve pains but that makes me more tired so in order to be awake and alert when I’m at work, I can’t take pain relief.’ Priya’s situation isn’t unique and she begrudges the ‘lack of information available to young people about how to deal with the aftermath, or provisions for working whilst dealing with symptoms.’
With September and the return of schools and universities around the corner, we’ll no doubt see the continued blame of young people for COVID cases – a trend which has already begun with Daily Mail articles about Boardmasters festival. Unfortunately, as the last to be offered vaccinations and the most likely demographic to attend festivals and go clubbing, we’re an easy target. Ellie, a criminology and criminal justice student from South Wales, spoke of her frustration at suffering with hyposmia and dysgeusia (changes to taste and smell) 11 months on from having COVID. ‘I’ve basically had to teach myself to like food again because it just doesn’t taste the way it should’ she’s irritated at doctors and family members telling her not to worry because ‘it’ll come back and it’s no big deal.’ There’s currently no explanation as to why people experience changes to or loss of taste and smell when unwell with coronavirus and no cure for the affects.
With international travel opening back up, young people are once again disproportionately affected by the slower vaccine rollout in our age group when it comes to self-isolation and purchasing pricey private PCR tests. I asked Maksim, an International Relations student from Estonia, how he felt about the situation. ‘It’s ridiculous that the government are blaming us for not having the vaccine when it’s their fault that most of us still only have one dose. To travel home and visit family, I ran around to Brent and Twickenham to find walk-in sites for both jabs. We’re the least likely group to have both vaccines, and it’s totally unfair on international students to foot these bills so we can visit family for the first time in months.’
The vast majority of young people aren’t reckless, selfish lunatics who care more about a subpar night out in Pryzm than people’s lives. We’re exasperated at being used as scapegoats for everything from accessing education to attending legal festivals and club nights, and that we didn’t benefit from the privilege of accessing both vaccines early enough to visit family and protect ourselves during the huge surge in cases over the past few months.
If we don’t go out, we’re killing the economy. If we do go out, we’re narcissistic and thoughtless. We’re the most likely group to suffer long-term due to long COVID but women’s health is one of the least researched medical fields. It’s a bleak paradox, with no easy solution but please spare a thought for young people next time you click on that Daily Mail article – we’re probably in line at a walk-in centre.
Written by Emily Taylor-Davies
Emily is an English and French undergrad at King's College London and works part-time as French Language ambassador. When she isn't staring into the abyss of Microsoft Teams, Emily loves reading about Art History, fangirling over Virginia Woolf, and discovering cool new coffee shops
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