Update on Covid restrictions, testing and vaccinations

On Monday (14 June) the Prime Minister announced that there will be a pause in easing Covid restrictions in England. The city of Birmingham was also announced as an area identified for an enhanced response to tackle Covid.

Fifteen wards across the city with the lowest vaccine take-up and highest Covid rates have been identified for surge vaccination and greater walk-in capacity at vaccination sites as part of the enhanced response. The 15 wards will also be offered doorstep lateral flow testing.

The Government has also issued new advice on travel and socialising, including minimising travel into and out of the area and not taking unnecessary journeys.  If you live in the identified areas you are strongly encouraged to take up regular testing and vaccinations when they are offered, and consider minimising travel.

From today the NHS vaccination service is now open to all adults over age 18 to receive a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination. The vaccination programme is open to all students (including international students) currently resident in England.  You must be registered with a GP and have your NHS registration number to access a vaccination.

There are lots of ways and places to book and receive your first dose vaccination and next week we will be announcing a vaccination site on campus in partnership with the NHS. We will be able to offer a Pfizer-BioNtech vaccination appointment to students and staff on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 June on campus from the Green Heart Marquee.

This will be a bookable, appointment based service  -  with some limited capacity for walk-in vaccinations.  Working with our partners we are planning to offer more than 1,000 vaccinations per day.  More details to follow on Monday alongside the launch of our appointment booking service.  We are encouraging everyone to get a vaccination as part of the national programme to beat the pandemic and re-open society.

To help keep the campus community safe, a reminder you can also pick up home testing kits (seven in a box) from various locations on campus. You don’t need to book but please bring ID with you.

We are continuing to review the Government guidance to understand what these announcements mean for our University community and in particular planned on campus events, including the forthcoming Graduation Celebrations. We will update you as soon as we are able but be assured that we are working hard to ensure we can deliver the best possible experience for you within the guidance.

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