Over 17 months ago, Prime Minister Johnson made the chilling announcement that people must ‘stay at home’, ‘protect the NHS’ and ‘save lives’ for the very first time. Many of us wondered when this pandemic would end. Covid has taken almost 4.5 million lives worldwide, and continues to cause universal heartbreak and pain for individuals everywhere; even with the vaccine in place.
When the vaccine was finalised and given the green light, it was our saving grace. Whilst cases rose as the country re-opened, deaths dropped; proving the vaccine to be successful. However, some people are choosing not to take the jab; including some university students.
Students have had a tough year. With the outbreak of covid, the ‘university experience’ was halted, and social isolation was introduced. They have felt ignored by the government for the past year-and-a-half. Paying for accommodation they are legally not allowed to travel to, paying full tuition fees for remote learning, and no leeway with grades are just a few of the reasons many students have felt cheated.
Ministers debated on making the double vaccination compulsory for university students to go on campus and live in halls of residence. However, they received backlash from the University and College Union’s general secretary, Jo Grady, who said it would be ‘hugely discriminatory against those who are unable to be vaccinated, and international students.’ The National Union of Students (NUS), who have fought for students to have their voices heard throughout the pandemic, called the proposal ‘appalling’.
The government have recently backtracked on their previous plan, and now advise that higher education institutions ‘encourage students to take up the offer of both doses of the vaccine, as soon as they become eligible.’
Whilst some students were pleased to hear about the government’s U-turn, others fear mixing with unvaccinated students in lecture theatres.
According to our survey on Twitter, 26% think that students should attend whether they are vaccinated or not, 15% said that it did not bother them, and 59% answered that unvaccinated individuals should not be attending lectures; displaying a real sense of conflict in the student community.
Joshua, a University of Sheffield student said:
“Many people can’t / won’t take the vaccine because of religious, medical or moral reasons. These people should not be discriminated against and should be allowed to access the same level of education as everyone else, otherwise it is a simple violation of the human right to education.
“Those who don’t take the vaccine have a duty to ensure the safety of others around them when attending lectures by continuing to test regularly and wearing a mask.”
Chelsea, an incoming postgraduate student at The University of Sheffield said:
“I believe it is down to each individual to keep themselves safe by having the vaccine, testing if they have symptoms, and wearing a mask in an enclosed space-especially with people they don’t interact with regularly.
“I would prefer for those who are unvaccinated to test regularly (just to be sure) and wear a mask, however since I cannot expect everyone who is unvaccinated to do this, I will make sure that I feel safe by taking these precautions myself.”
Since the 19th of July, the government has made social distancing and mask-wearing a personal choice. From the 16th of August, fully-vaccinated individuals do not need to isolate if they are a close contact of a positive-case. Those who are not double jabbed will still need to isolate.
However, the main concern is surrounding the new variations of covid, which occurs when it is released to a mass amount of people. The UK is an ideal breeding ground for the virus as there are limited restrictions of human contact in place.
This a concern for Miriam, an incoming postgraduate student at The University of Sheffield who said:
“At the moment I’m kind of okay going to lectures with people who have been unvaccinated, but the longer covid breeds in people, the more new strains and variants come out.
“There could be a variant where my vaccine isn’t as effective and I could catch another variant and be really sick.”
The UK is planning to offer a third ‘booster’ vaccine this autumn to those who are clinically vulnerable, and therefore at risk of dying from covid complications. This decision came after studies suggested that the level of immunity from the vaccine declines over time. The Zoe Covid Study app found that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine immunity dropped by 10% in four to five months, and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by 14%.
As the vaccine immunity has decreased and we are at risk of new strains emerging, there are some worries around whether university will be taught predominantly face-to-face or online this academic year.
When asked how she would feel if university had to be remote this year, Miriam said:
“I’d be really angry because I did everything I could to prevent this going into a really bad fourth wave again but I already expect this to happen.
“I just hope it won’t be as bad and there won’t be as many people hospitalised. But if people don’t get the vaccine, then it will happen again. It will all go back to last year I think, and I’m really worried about that.”
There is a mixed opinion amongst university students as the new academic year arrives. However, one thing remains clear; students will no longer be the scapegoat for the failures of the government.