SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — While states across the country work to protect their older populations from COVID-19, a recent study suggests that mass vaccinations of a different age group could help slow the virus.

People ages 20 to 49 are most responsible for the 2020 COVID-19 resurgences, according to a study published Tuesday in Science Magazine.

After schools re-opened in October 2020, the study says adults in the 20 to 49 range accounted for 72.2% of infections across the U.S. locations they studied. More specifically, the 20-34 age range contributed to 34% of infections and the 35-49 segment contributed to 38.2% of infections.

The study found that just 2.7% of infections came from children ages 0-9, and 7.1% from teens ages 10-19.

Due to the high rates, the researchers believe focusing mass vaccination efforts for the 20-49 age group will help control COVID-19 infections.

“This study indicates that in locations where novel highly-transmissible SARS-CoV-2 lineages have not yet established, additional interventions among adults aged 20-49, such as mass vaccination with transmission-blocking vaccines, could bring resurgent COVID-19 epidemics under control and avert deaths,” according to the paper.

The study maintains that controlling the spread in the 20s to middle-aged demographic would also help with safely reopening schools.

Editor’s note, this post was altered to clarify the infection rates among segments of the adult population.