We’ll be the first to admit our title is a huge generalization, although the evidence is there according to Salt Lake Tribune. That’s because people aged 15 to 44 currently contribute approximately 60% of the state’s coronavirus cases. Information available suggests teens and millennials are foot-off-throttle. Why are Utah youth not taking COVID-19 seriously?
Utah Youth Not Sufficiently Worried to Take COVID-19 Seriously
Salt Lake Tribune shares the story of a young man aged 16 whose grandmother died of the virus. He was careful at first after that, but gradually took his foot of the pedal until he contracted the disease. First his friends fell ill, and then him too. ‘I don’t think we were really worried about it,’ he admits, ‘until one of us got it’.
Utah youth who are not taking COVID-19 seriously appear to have offset improving attitudes among the 25 to 44 year group. In fact, teens and early twenties are now the largest source of infections in Utah. ‘It’s not a serious disease through their lens,’ explains Sue Jackson at Utah Valley University. That’s because they see it more as an annoyance in their lives.
A Low Personal Risk but a Higher Danger to Others
Utah residents aged 15 to 44 with the disease have a 3% chance of entering hospital, but only a 1% possibility of actually dying. However, they still have an equal chance of infecting other people. They may also be the portal through which the coronavirus disease entered a large number of Utah nursing homes.
‘I don’t know how you solve the problem of Utah youth not taking COVID-19 seriously,’ says Sue Jackson at Utah Valley University. ‘I don’t know how you persuade young people to change attitude,’ she adds. The young man in the case study has recovered except for a lingering fatigue.
However, his mother and family are still in quarantine. She explains he son has a small circle of friends and this closeness may have made him feel secure. However, his biggest hassle is being separate from his friends. ‘We are teens’ he says. ‘Social contact is what we do’.
Related
Walking the Family Dog through COVID-19
CDC Considerations for Reopening Schools
Preview Image: Hanging Around with Friends
