ABSTRACT

We examine the impact of vaccination against Covid-19 for mental health. Our estimates suggest that vaccination led to a significant and substantive improvement in mental health. These positive impacts were however concentrated on those most at risk of hospitalisation and death from Covid-19. Our proposed explanation is that in the absence of vaccination, anxiety about contracting COVID-19 has a deleterious impact on the mental health of this cohort. On the other hand, vaccination was much less impactful for the mental health of those least at risk from Covid-19. This may help to explain vaccine hesitancy amongst young people. For this group, a lack of uptake may be principally due to a lack of perceived benefits (and indeed perceived costs) for their own well-being as opposed to vaccine hesitancy.

Fuente: European Economic Review
Available online 27 September 2022, 104293
In Press, Journal Pre-proof

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