Some of our young people are half way through their degrees (2019/20 intake): lockdowns on repeat, light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations (?) and the legacy of COVID-19

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose is all I can say!

Uni Dd much happier that she can return soon as we are vaccinated. Logistically I don’t know if she could get the vaccine at Uni as she’s registered with a GP here. Hopefully the Uni’s will have a mass vaccination hub programme in the summer.

I remember at Uni it used to be the thing that we went and gave blood in the ‘blood van’ then went out on the beers. A pint and you were plastered - cheap night out and such a laugh. I would be really cross with Dd if she did that now!

That is to be hoped simbobs

On a slightly different subject, if all adults will be vaccinated by the end of July there can surely be no earthly reason for not resuming business as usual from Setember?

One would hope, but (and really hoping I am being overly pessimistic here), a couple of thoughts, which I have also posted on another thread:

• students (and staff) (re)entering from countries where they will not yet have been covered by their home country's vaccination programme
• the numbers within the indigenous and incoming populations who will have refused - or been genuinely unable (but this group is small) - to have the vaccine. Life was originally going to start getting back to normal once those most likely to have a poor outcome themselves / overburden the NHS had all been vaccinated, now it's all about those who haven't yet been offered the vaccine, and mainly aren't / won't, still testing positive too much so the number of cases is still too high. (DH hates me saying, I told you so on that one, but seriously, it was my first thought when we were told that once the right groups had all been vaccinated to remove the bulk of the strain on the NHS, life could start getting back to normal).

I think covid and it’s various mutations are always going to be around for the next few years. There will be local flare ups. We will just get used it/get sick of hearing about it. If children aren’t vaccinated then they will keep spreading it to people for whom the vaccine didn’t work as well.

I think people coming from abroad is a risk for mutations so the control of that needs some thought.

RampantIvy hope your Dd is OK. My Dd is also a bit stressed about the workload. She hasn’t got a house booked for next year as she hoped to do an internship. She’s only found one (v.v.prestigious) which she interviewed for last week. There were so many people they were interviewing though.
She more relaxed about not getting an internship now.

I think people coming from abroad should be subject to Test & Release. We certainly cannot be expected to make continued sacrifices to protect those who refuse vaccination. I don't know how many people genuinely cannot be vaccinated but they would have to continue to take extra care.

It is a good point about student DC registered with gp in their uni city but potentially living at home over the summer. There must be some provision made to get them vaccinated where they are. Hopefully the powers that be will have thought of it.

Covid in Scotland: Dental schools unable to take on new students www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56112743
As if U.K. wasn't already suffering from lack of dentists....I can see the reasoning behind this decision but it will have drastic knock on effects
On a personal level my ds degree is a fairly practical scientific course and he's missed so much in terms of fieldwork and lab time....he's due to graduate in July but is already planning of postponing starting his MSc/MRes as won't be able to carry out research he'd planned

I think people coming from abroad should be subject to Test & Release. We certainly cannot be expected to make continued sacrifices to protect those who refuse vaccination.

Absolutely agree with this. Also, any anti vaxxer who goes on about human rights needs to consider the right for everyone else not to be at risk, especially those who can't be vaccinated.

Agree.

@Zandathepanda I don't think it matters as long as they are registered with a gp. When they get a text saying they can have a vaccine, they can go online and book one at the nearest place. The only time it won't work is for example our gp surgery are only vaccinating their own patients. So if Ds1 gets a call for his and he's registered with uni gp then he will have to go to a hub rather than our gp surgery. I'm fairly sure that's how it works.

We certainly cannot be expected to make continued sacrifices to protect those who refuse vaccination.

This, 100%.

I'm just not entirely confident that the decision will be ours to make. Ho hum...

I shall be making my own decisions regardless! Enough now. DH and I don't exactly live a risky lifestyle. The few changes likely to be announced tomorrow will make no difference to us whatsoever. Nothing will until we are able to travel again.

icanbe we were only given the option to book in our county via an app though by the time it goes on ‘general adults’ maybe that will change. There is no option to book via a GP. They are not doing them.

On a slightly different subject, if all adults will be vaccinated by the end of July there can surely be no earthly reason for not resuming business as usual from Setember?

Life has to return to normal this Autumn. Students/staff coming in from abroad need to be offered the vaccine.

For those who refuse the vaccine, that's the risk they take and they can't expect everyone else to continue making sacrifices for them.

For those who can't have the vaccine due to genuine medical reasons, then they may need to accept that normal "uni life" isn't for them. There may be limited options for staff to be redeployed to non contact roles, but otherwise it may have to be end of employment based on ill health (like other health conditions could cause). For students with medical conditions, then perhaps the Open University is a more suitable route for their degree.

Once vaccinations have been offered to all adults, it's time for people to "piss or get off the pot". Back to normal for those who have the vaccine or willing to take the risk of "normal life". For the refusers or those with medical reasons, then a change of role/position is probably the answer for them.

@Zandathepanda our gp are doing them. But only their own patients. Dh has his next week. But I know others in our village using the gp in the next town have to book online and go to a big vaccination hub. So I'm assuming if, like you asked and you aren't living in the area of your gp you must be able to book online.

icanbe sorry if I didn’t make it clear but DD’s GP is still at our home not in her Uni town and our county only do online choices within the county. I’m not worried, if she’s up in Newcastle when she gets the call-up I am sure there will be a way round it. I can imagine by student-age they’ll have it sorted out or perhaps they can do ‘Swapshot’. I know one poster on here with a child at our nearest uni! I’ll swap a Newcastle vaccine hub slot for a.....

Hopefully there will be enough vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.

@Zandathepanda Sorry...I just assumed you could book anywhere once called. People local to us in Norfolk are going online and being offered places as far away as Essex as their gp surgeries aren't doing them. There aren't appointments more local for them. So I just meant if you are called up you seem to be able to book anywhere.

That’s good. It makes sense to do it that way.

It's causing quite a stir on the news. There are 2 gp surgeries side by side over the border in Norfolk. One is offering vaccinations to their own patients on site. They get a text, they follow the link to book appointment at the surgery (as with ours in Suffolk) but the surgery next door aren't offering vaccinations on site. So people get a text and follow the link, their nearest hub is 22 miles away. But they get offered places miles away, as far as Cambridge and Essex. They are call getting frustrated. Especially those that don't drive.
Hence me assuming you can probably book somewhere further away if you happen to be living further away.

You can book anywhere once you have received a letter @icanbewhatiwant. DH received his letter last week, but our GP posted on the local Facebook page that they had no idea when they would receive vaccines, so anyone with a letter could feel free to book elsewhere.

He booked to have his vaccine in the next city 15 miles away. The whole operation was slick and very professional. They checked on allergies and made him sit for 15 minutes afterwards to make sure all was OK before they sent him on his way.

Where we live the more vulnerable (care home, house-bound, underlying health conditions) are being vaccinated by gp or at gp led centres; everyone else books at one of the mass-vaccination centres. There seem to be masses of appointments available at these. Some people we know are choosing to go to one that is a little further away, as it feels like a day out! By the time our student DC are in line for vaccination the large centres will probably be the only options.

Sorry, haven't been on this thread for a while - nothing much to say .

My DS is back at NTU, seems to be reasonably well motivated and 'attending' all his lectures & seminars on line. He is also meant to be doing a placement next year but struggling to find anything ... we are suggesting he just takes a year off anyway and hopefully can at least do some volunteering or unpaid internship ... it's such a tough decision. He's applied and got a place with Camp America for a few weeks over the Summer .... but who know if that will go ahead??

has there been any talk of vaccinating teachers? Never mind for university but also schools which apparantly will be opening soon.

You'd think there are a small enough number to at least protect them so they feel safe to teach

@MrKlaw I heard them discussing on tv about teachers/police/firemen/postmen etc etc. who all want to be prioritised for the vaccine. But they said they want to continue in age order as age determines how ill people get.

How do you isolate the abovementioned professions as a cohort for vaccination priority purposes? It is not like the nhs knows what you do for a living.

@Ragwort it seems that many of our DC are in the same boat, but I would rather that my DS finished his degree and then took time out, if he wanted to. Otherwise I think it will be much harder to get back into studying. Nice idea about Camp America, though.