University students could need to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus to attend lectures and stay in halls this coming academic year.
“We aren’t ruling it out,” a senior government source told Sky News about the prospect of mandating COVID-19 vaccination passports for universities.
According to a report in The Times newspaper, Boris Johnson is said to be “pushing” the idea, although there would be some medical exemptions.
The prime minister is “raging” at low vaccine uptake among young people and wants to apply pressure to increase the numbers coming forward for a jab, the report added.
But asked by Kay Burley on Sky News if students would need to be fully-vaccinated to enjoy a normal university experience, education minister Vicky Ford replied: “No. We must make sure we continue to prioritise education.”
Ms Ford did say that having two jabs would “minimise disruption” for students as they would then not have to isolate if they are identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for the virus.
Photo: The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a vaccination centre in Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, Britain. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL
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