News article
Christmas comes early for ten student winners of vaccination prize draw
Ten Βι¶ΉΣ³» students are celebrating an early Christmas present having been selected as the lucky winners of a vaccination incentivising cash prize draw.
The lucky winners drawn at random have each won £5,000 as part of a programme announced by the University this summer to encourage take-up of the Covid-19 vaccination.
Prize winners have described how measures by the University, including the prize draw and pop-up vaccination clinics hosted on campus, had convinced them to get vaccinated and told of their excitement about how they plan to spend the prize money.
Georgie Taylor, a third year BSc Psychology student, said: "I am very grateful to have won, and the university incentive and pop-up vaccine clinic on campus was what prompted me to get vaccinated.”
Amna Jamil, a first year BSc Medical Neuroscience student in the School of Life Sciences, said: “It feels amazing to be a prize draw winner.
“I think it’s great that the university is trying as much as possible to encourage people to get vaccinated, so we can all be safer. I was already vaccinated before I knew about this draw, but I think knowing that you might win a prize like this, makes people want to get vaccinated even more.”
Amy Gardiner, a third year BA Primary and Early Years Education student in the School of Education and Social Work, said: “I felt so overwhelmed when I was told I had won, I couldn’t believe I was chosen. I re-read the email about 20 times because I was in so much shock. I am so grateful to the University and I couldn’t be happier.
“My plans are to save the money for next year to learn to drive and towards a car. I aim to save as much as possible to use after university.”
In August, the University announced a student draw for ten £5,000 cash prizes as a reward for students helping to protecting the University community and beyond by getting their Covid-19 vaccinations as part of a plan to drive up rates at the start of the new academic year.
Ten prizes of £5,000 have now been awarded to randomly selected students who were able demonstrate that they had had both doses or who are exempt. All Βι¶ΉΣ³» students registered and studying on campus were automatically entered into the draw.
The vaccination was part of a broader push by the University to encourage vaccination take-up which also included hosting a number of pop-up temporary vaccination clinics in conjunction with local NHS partners to ensure hundreds of students could be vaccinated on campus.
A student survey on vaccination status conducted in September had 11,000 responses with 87% of those responding confirming they had already been fully vaccinated.
, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students said: "We're very proud of how our students have behaved during the Covid-19 pandemic. Getting vaccinated is just one of the ways in which they have shown how much they care about each other and protect the Βι¶ΉΣ³» community. These prizes are our way of saying thank you. Congratulations to the winners."