COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Attitudes Within Two Cohorts of Younger Adult Cannabis Users

In: Journal of drug issues: JDI, Volume 53, Issue 3, p. 422-430

Abstract

It is crucial to understand COVID-19 vaccine uptake and attitudes among young adult cannabis users given the lowest vaccination rates among young adults and negative association between cannabis use and willingness to get vaccinated. 18–21-year-old and 26–33-year-old cohorts of cannabis users, recruited in California, were surveyed about the COVID-19 vaccine uptake/attitudes between March-August 2021. Cannabis use/demographic differences were investigated by vaccination status. Vaccine attitudes data were categorized and presented descriptively. 44.4% of the older and 71.8% of the younger cohorts were vaccinated. Non-Hispanic Black/African American race/ethnicity, lack of health insurance, and medicinal orientation towards cannabis use were negatively associated with vaccine receipt within the older cohort. For both cohorts, top reasons for vaccine hesitancy and rejection were concerns about speed of development, potential side effects, natural immunity, and lack of trust of vaccines. Our results highlight greater vaccine hesitance/rejection and need for targeted interventions among mid-20's-early-30's cannabis users.