The Impacts of COVID-19 Vaccines on Mental Health Outcomes

Virat Agrawal, Jonathan Cantor, Neeraj Sood and Christopher Whaley

American Journal of Health Economics, 2026, vol. 12, issue 3, 610 - 636

Abstract: The COVID-19 vaccination campaign that made millions of Americans eligible for COVID-19 vaccines was primarily aimed at reducing COVID-19 transmission and mortality risks, but there may be important secondary benefits. Leveraging state-level exogenous variation in the timing of when people in different age groups became eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, we find that being eligible for vaccination leads to large reductions in self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms. These improvements in mental health stem from both self-vaccination and vaccination among near-age peers, suggesting both personal and external benefits of vaccine rollout policies. Furthermore, we find evidence that suggests that populations disproportionately impacted (i.e., those who had increased stressors due to the COVID-19 pandemic) experienced larger improvements in mental health because of vaccination. We estimate the economic benefit of reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms due to the COVID-19 vaccine campaign in the United States to be approximately $100 billion.

Date: 2026
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