For Free or Not for Free: Do College Students Understand the Price of COVID-19 Vaccinations?

• In Event: Higher Ed Policy and Campus Crises: Sexual Violence and COVID Contexts

Abstract

No research has explored if college students understand that the COVID-19 vaccine is free and whether that understanding varies among groups of people. As a result, this study surveyed 1,183 college students to explore these students’ knowledge of vaccine costs and whether differences exist between groups. Data suggests many college students do not know that COVID-19 vaccinations are free: Asian American/Pacific Islander students were most aware of COVID-19 vaccines being free (55.7%), while Black/African American students were least aware (41.4%). Moreover, women were more aware of free COVID-19 vaccines (50.2%) than men (40.1%), first generation college students were more aware (50.9%) than non-first generation college students (42.7%), and students without disabilities (50.7%) were more aware than students with disabilities (26.6%).

Authors

• Zach Taylor, University of Southern Mississippi

• Joshua Childs, The University of Texas at Austin