Proposals for mandatory Covid vaccinations for university students have triggered a sharp backlash, with one union saying they would be “hugely discriminatory”, while Labour branded the idea a “barrier to learning”.
Downing Street did not rule out a requirement for proof of double-jabbed status to attend lectures and move into halls of residence, amid growing concern about comparatively low levels of take-up of vaccines among younger Britons.
Boris Johnson is said to have floated the idea during a virtual meeting from his self-isolation at Chequers, when he is said to have been “raging” about NHS England figures showing one-third of 18 to 29-year-olds have still not had their first dose, compared to one in 10 in the adult population as a whole.
Meanwhile, new polling suggested that many younger people have swiftly abandoned protective measures since so-called freedom day on 19 July, when rules on mandatory masks and social distancing were dropped.
The proportion of 18-24 year-olds telling pollsters YouGov they wear masks in public place fell from 64 per cent in early June to 46 per cent now, while numbers saying they are avoiding crowded places from from 41 per cent to 26 per cent. Use of face coverings among older age groups was virtually unchanged.
Experts today warned that mixed government messages have contributed to the reluctance of some younger people to come forward for jabs.
“We have seen stigmatising language being used which blames young people for not ‘doing the right thing’,” said medical anthropologist Dr Ben Kassten of Bristol University.
“But they have been receiving mixed government messages from the start of the pandemic, creating the perception that they are not a priority for protection, and public health is now paying the price for that.”
And Bristol’s chair in cognitive psychology Professor Colin Davis said: “There are several aspects of government messaging that have been unhelpful.
“When Sajid Javid explains matter of factly that the UK will soon reach 100,000 cases a day, the message that is being sent to young people is that it doesn’t matter if they are infected. The government should be more open about the dangers posed to young people by long Covid.”
Sociologist Robert Dingwall, of Nottingham Trent University, told The Independent that the focus should be on getting the vaccines to places where young people gather – through pop-up clinics at festivals, nightlife areas or freshers’ events at colleges – rather than threatening them with exclusion from nightclubs, pubs and lecture halls if they fail to get their jabs.
Tower Hamlets council in east London has announced a summer vaccine festival starting on Friday, offering live music and free food for over-18s coming to get a jab.
“The younger generation have had a pretty good kicking over the past 18 months,” said Prof Dingwall. “It’s entirely understandable that people are going to be disconnected and are saying ‘What’s the point of a vaccination campaign if we’re still going to have to provide documentation everywhere we go?’ If you are trying to promote vaccine uptake, threats don’t work very well.”
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UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel
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UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London
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UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main
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UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families
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UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk
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UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer
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UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London
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UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England
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UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent
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UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave
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UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool
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UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a ￡7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe
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UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the world’s first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the ‘Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein’ experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July
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UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford
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UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester
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UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match
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UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australia’s Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova
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UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday
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UK news in pictures 8 July 2021 Karolina Pliskova celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka during the women's singles semifinals match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London
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UK news in pictures 7 July 2021 The residents of Towfield Court in Feltham have transformed their estate with England flags for the Euro 2020 tournament
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UK news in pictures 6 July 2021 A couple are hit by a wave as they walk along the promenade in Dover, Kent, during strong winds
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UK news in pictures 5 July 2021 Alexander Zverev playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the Gentlemen's Singles on Court 1 on day seven of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
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UK news in pictures 4 July 2021 Aaron Carty and the Beyoncé Experience perform on stage during UK Black Pride at The Roundhouse in London
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UK news in pictures 3 July 2021 England’s Jordan Henderson celebrates after scoring his first international goal, his side’s fourth against Ukraine during the Euro 2020 quarter final match at the Olympic stadium in Rome
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UK news in pictures 2 July 2021 Dan Evans serves against Sebastian Korda during their men’s singles third round match at Wimbledon
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UK news in pictures 1 July 2021 Prince William, left and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London
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UK news in pictures 30 June 2021 Dancers from the Billingham Festival and Balbir Singh Dance Company, during a preview for the The Two Fridas, UK Summer tour, presented by Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance in collaboration with Balbir Singh Dance Company, inspired by the life and times of female artists Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil , which opens on July 10 at Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens in Durham
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UK news in pictures 29 June 2021 A boy kicks a soccer ball in front of the balconies and landings adorned with predominantly England flags at the Kirby housing estate in London
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UK news in pictures 28 June 2021 Emergency services attend a fire nearby the Elephant & Castle Rail Station in London
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UK news in pictures 27 June 2021 People walk along Regent Street in central London during a #FreedomToDance march organised by Save Our Scene, in protest against the government’s perceived disregard for the live music industry throughout the coronavirus pandemic
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UK news in pictures 26 June 2021 A pair of marchers in a Trans Pride rally share a smile in Soho
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UK news in pictures 25 June 2021 Tim Duckworth during the Long Jump in the decathlon during day one of the Muller British Athletics Championships at Manchester Regional Arena
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UK news in pictures 24 June 2021 A member of staff poses with the work 'The Death of Cash' by XCopy at the 'CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art' auction at Bonhams auction house in London
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UK news in pictures 23 June 2021 Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John displays the new 50-pound banknote at Daunt Books in London
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UK news in pictures 22 June 2021 Actor Isaac Hampstead Wright sits on the newly unveiled Game of Throne's "Iron Throne" statue, in Leicester Square, in London, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The statue is the tenth to join the trail and commemorates 10 years since the TV show first aired, as well as in anticipation for HBO's release of House of the Dragon set to be released in 2022
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UK news in pictures 21 June 2021 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives her second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
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UK news in pictures 20 June 2021 Joyce Paton, from Peterhead, on one of the remaining snow patches on Meall a’Bhuiridh in Glencoe during the Midsummer Ski. The event, organised by the Glencoe Mountain Resort, is held every year on the weekend closest to the Summer Solstice
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UK news in pictures 19 June 2021 England appeal LBW during day four of their Women’s International Test match against India at the Bristol County Ground
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UK news in pictures 18 June 2021 Scotland fans let off flares in Leicester Square after Scotland's Euro 2020 match against England ended in a 0-0 draw
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UK news in pictures 17 June 2021 Members of the Tootsie Rollers jazz band pose on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet
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UK news in pictures 16 June 2021 A woman and child examine life-size sculptures of a herd of Asian elephants set up by the Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective to help educate the public on the elephants and the ways in which humans can better protect the planets biodiversity, in Green Park, central London
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UK news in pictures 15 June 2021 Hydrotherapists with Dixie, a seven-year-old Dachshund who is being treated for back problems common with the breed, in the hydrotherapy pool during a facility at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's in Battersea, London, to view their new hydrotherapy centre
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UK news in pictures 14 June 2021 Scotland's David Marshall in the net after Czech Republic's Patrik Schick scored their second goal at Hampden Park
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UK news in pictures 13 June 2021 Raheem Sterling celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring England’s first goal of the Euro 2021 tournament in a match against Croatia at Wembley
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UK news in pictures 12 June 2021 Oxfam campaigners wearing costumes depicting G7 leaders pose for photographers on Swanpool Beach near Falmouth, Cornwall
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UK news in pictures 11 June 2021 Members of the Vaxinol team, who are commercial, industrial and residential cleaners specialising in disinfection and decontamination, use electrostatic spray systems to deep clean the Only Fools Bar in Liverpool
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UK news in pictures 10 June 2021 A woman walks her dogs as the incoming tide begins to wash away the heads of G7 leaders drawn in the sand by activists on the beach at Newquay, Cornwall
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UK news in pictures 9 June 2021 Adam Chamberlain, 45, general manager of Big Tree pub in Sheffield, has put up over 500 flags, taking 36 hours, in preparation for Euro 2020, which kicks off this weekend
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UK news in pictures 8 June 2021
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UK news in pictures 7 June 2021 A pedestrian wearing a face covering walks over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in central London
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The recent fall in infection rates continued on Monday, with 24,950 positive cases reported – fewer than half the peak of 54,674 on 17 July, bringing the total for the past seven days down to 21 per cent below the previous week. Some 14 deaths were reported, bringing the weekly total up to 445 – 50 per cent higher than the previous seven days.
But Downing Street warned that the UK was “not out of the woods yet”, cautioning that the expected increase in infections resulting from the removal of lockdown restrictions on 19 July will not feed through into infections, hospitalisations and deaths for another week or two.
While describing latest figures as “encouraging”, a No 10 spokesman said the pandemic “is not over” and “we should still expect to see a rise in case numbers given the move to step 4 last week”.
Government scientific adviser Dr Mike Tildesley of Warwick University warned that the drop in positive cases may simply reflect the fact that secondary school children are no longer doing lateral flow tests twice a week now their summer holidays have started, allowing more asymptomatic infections to be missed.
Dr Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (Spi-M) said he was “cautiously optimistic” but it would take another two weeks to be able to tell if the third Covid wave is “turning round”.
Education minister Vicky Ford said that, while the sustained drop in coronavirus cases is “very good news”, people must not become complacent.
“We all know how quickly it can go back up again,” she warned.
Ms Ford declined to rule out mandatory vaccination for university students, telling Times Radio: “We don’t want to go back to a situation where large parts of education were closed to many young people and children, and a key part of doing that is having that double-vaccinated population.
“So I think we need to continue to encourage our young people to step forward, have the vaccination, and that is the way that they can have that freedom and confidence that they’ll be able to have that full university life.”
But the general secretary of the University and College Union, Jo Grady, said: “Making vaccinations compulsory as a condition to access their education is wrong and would be hugely discriminatory against those who are unable to be vaccinated, and international students.
“Sadly, this looks and smells like a prime minister trying to pin the blame on students for not yet taking up a vaccine they haven’t been prioritised to receive.”
Ms Grady urged the prime minister to work with the NHS and universities to “enable and sensitively encourage student vaccination” instead of resorting to mandatory jab rules.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “It’s a barrier for students learning and I don’t think that we should be putting barriers in place.
“We should be supporting students and encouraging students to come forward, as we are with every member of the population over the age of 18. Come forward and have your vaccine. If you are worried and concerned about it, please speak to your GP who can give you advice and guidance.”
And Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Munira Wilson said: “While it is crucial every adult who can get vaccinated does get the jab, attempting to withhold face-to-face education from students until they do is crossing a line.”
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows cases of coronavirus in 16-24 year-olds are almost six times more common than in 50-69 year-olds.
Department of Health sources said the government, NHS and Public Health England were providing advice and information to young people “at every possible opportunity” to encourage vaccine take-up.
They pointed to partnerships with social media platforms and dating apps, as well as campaigns fronted by football and boxing stars designed to inspire confidence among the young.