London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 28, 2025

Covid vaccine status proof will not be required for students in England

Covid vaccine status proof will not be required for students in England

Department for Education says it encourages take-up of Covid jabs but has no plans for passport system
There are no plans to bring in vaccine passports for university students in England, the Department for Education has said, as a row continues over their use.

In interviews this week ministers – including the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab – had not ruled out using them, with students set to return to campuses in September.

Raab had said students would get “advance warning” if they were to be required, but the Department for Education (DfE) said on Saturday it was not planning for proof of vaccine status to be required to attend lectures or stay in halls of residence.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Vaccinations are important in helping to keep higher education settings safe for when students return in the autumn term and we strongly encourage all students to take up the offer of both vaccine doses.

“The government currently has no plans to require the use of the NHS Covid pass for access to learning, however, universities and FE [further education] colleges are encouraged to promote the offer of the vaccine and should continue to conduct risk assessments for their particular circumstances.”

Currently all over-18s in the UK have been offered the first dose of a vaccine, and those who are within three months of turning 18 can also get a jab.

By the end of September the government is planning for all adults to have had the offer of both jabs. From that date, ministers have said people will need to prove their full vaccination status to go to nightclubs and other crowded events and venues in England.

The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, has said that using domestic vaccine passports would be unworkable.

He called for parliament to be recalled from its summer recess after changes were made to the NHS Covid-19 app that mean it could be used to prove people’s vaccine status in England.

He told Times Radio on Saturday: “We’ve all agreed that for international travel you’ll need to have Covid options but domestically, sort of Covid ID cards, the Liberal Democrats have led the campaign against them. We’ve seen MPs in other parties share our views that this would be a real attack on people’s freedoms and particularly hit businesses and young people. It is unworkable, it is expensive and it is divisive.

“That’s why the government haven’t gone ahead with it previously. Now we hear, in the recess when parliament can’t debate it, they’ve by stealth changed the rules so your NHS app could be used as a Covid ID card across venues.”

In Scotland, the current paper versions are due to be replaced by a digital Covid certificate for overseas travel.

Damian Collins, former chair of the digital, culture, media and sport select committee, said people who had not been vaccinated could not expect the same treatment as those who had.

“We don’t force anyone to have a vaccine in this country, it is up to their individual choice,” he told Times Radio. “But at the same time, it might be unreasonable for someone who has decided not to get vaccinated to expect to be treated in the same way as someone who has been vaccinated twice.”

While case numbers are falling across the UK, concerns continue about the so-called “pingdemic”, where thousands of people are having to self-isolate after being told to do so by the NHS Covid-19 app or NHS test-and-trace, causing widespread disruption.

Ministers said last week that the app needed to be “tweaked” to cut the numbers of people quarantining at home.

A government health adviser, Prof Robert West, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday morning that people could be avoiding getting tested so they would not have to self-isolate after a positive result.

He said it may explain the contrast between apparently falling cases and an Office for National Statistics (ONS) study that said that one in 65 people in private homes in England had the virus in the week up to 24 July.

“One of the things that is a concern is that people may not be coming forward as they used to do for testing,” he said. “One of the reasons for that may be that the messaging from the government in a way has sort of given a bit of a green light to people to say: ‘Well, it is not so bad if you get the infection.’

“[But] if you get tested you’re going to have to self-isolate, at least at the moment, and that’s going to be very disruptive. I suspect that may be a factor.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×