Boris Johnson wants to make being fully jabbed a condition of entry to lectures in UK’s universities. Students who refuse to be jabbed would be confined to their halls of residence.
According to The Times this morning:
The Prime Minister is said to have been “raging” about the relatively low vaccine uptake among young people and is determined to apply pressure.
During video meetings with colleagues while in isolation at Chequers last week, he suggested that students in higher and further education settings should face compulsory vaccination, subject to certain medical exemptions.
However, The Times has been told that the Department for Education has reservations about the legality and practicability of the plans given that universities are independent and offers to study are legally binding.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph is reporting that as many as one third of UK firms are considering vaccine passports in the workplace. The British Chambers of Commerce conducted a survey of 1,000 businesses. The Telegraph reports:
31 per cent of firms with more than 50 employees suggested they were considering introducing so-called vaccine passports.
Nine per cent said they already required staff to provide proof of vaccination, while eight per cent said they were “likely” to introduce it in the future. Others said they were gathering more information before making a final decision.
A separate poll of 1,000 business leaders conducted by Owl Labs, a video conferencing company, found that 23 per cent of firms in the UK were planning to introduce the requirement.
Overall though, 78 per cent of companies said that they had no intention to ask workers to prove their covid status. However, 76 per cent said they would keep social distancing in place and more than half (54 per cent) said they would require staff to continue wearing masks.
