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

Institutions of higher education have mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for students wishing to return to an on-campus, in-person learning experience. However, some groups have expressed a hesitancy to be vaccinated, while others are unsure about the vaccine's side effects and/or efficacy. Yet, an under-researched aspect of COVID-19 vaccinations and related communication is whether individuals--in this study, 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%). Implications for health communication, vaccine awareness, and higher education policy are addressed.