They might not necessarily be staffing intensive care units, procuring PPE or delivering vaccines, but, in many ways, Britain's young people are on the coronavirus frontline.
Not because of the health risks, it's a disease which poses the most risk to the elderly, but the financial ones.
The economic fallout of the pandemic, Britain's own national statistician notes, has 'been felt more by young people and the lowest paid'.
More than 200,000 16-24-year-olds fell out of the UK's workforce between November 2019 and the same month last year thanks to the pandemic-induced recession, which has particularly affected industries like hospitality which employ large numbers of young adults.