COVID-19 has led to more than six million deaths and 600 million cases worldwide. In the United States, there has been over 1,000,000 deaths and more than 90 million cases. As of April 19, 2021, all adults aged 16 and older were eligible to receive vaccination. Nevertheless, only 67.5% of adults are fully vaccinated. In contrast, 64.9% of young adults aged 18-24 have received one dose of the vaccine. Though this seems on par with the average vaccination rate among all adults in the United States, it is significantly lower when compared to older adults aged 65+ of which an average of 90% have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The current study aimed to identify potential drivers of young adult vaccine hesitancy through a mixed methods approach employing both a quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interviews.This research provides unique insight into potential reasons why this age group lags vaccine compliance rates when compared to other age groups and can be used to guide policies in future pandemics when considering vaccine roll-out strategies and how to increase vaccine uptake in the young adult population.