THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 VACCINATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH

We examine the impact of vaccination against Covid-19 for mental health. Our estimates suggest that vaccination leads to a significant and substantive improvement in the mental health of 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, our findings suggest that vaccination does not materially impact the mental health of those least at risk from Covid-19, namely younger cohorts. The lack of any significant impact for this cohort may explain vaccine hesitancy amongst young people. For this group, a lack of uptake may be principally due to a lack of perceived benefits for their own well-being as opposed to vaccine hesitancy.