At a Glance
We surveyed 2937 young adults (ages 18–26 years), from October 2020 – April 2021, and gathered data on demographics, vaccination attitudes, and COVID-19 attitudes.
Young adults living in rural areas had 40% less odds of intending to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, compared with urban young adults, a significant difference.
Vaccination intent between rural and urban young adults diverged and widened from December 2020 to April 2021, whereas prior (October to December 2020), intent had been narrowing.
Even if a health care provider recommended the COVID-19 vaccine, rural young adults indicated that they would be unlikely to receive it at significantly higher frequencies, compared with urban young adults (24% vs 7%, P < 0.001).
Being a current student partially mediated the association between rurality and COVID-19 vaccination intent, suggesting differences in information sources and access, highlighting modifiable factors for future interventions.