Young people need to ‘do their bit’ and get the vaccine, according to the government

The government has said young people need to “do their bit” and get vaccinated.

In comments reported by The Times, Matt Hancock has said the young should get the Covid jab to be able to go on holiday and visit their grandparents.

Back in September, Hancock blamed an increase in Covid infections on “socialising by people in their 20s and 30s”.

Hancock’s recent comments are part of a government PR blitz to maintain confidence in the vaccine after its advisors recommended under-30s be given a jab other than the AstraZeneca vaccine where possible.

The move came 79 of the 20 million people given the vaccine developed rare blood clots. The government says the clots are “extremely rare” and under-30s will still be able to request a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to get quicker protection.

However, young people are the last group to be offered the vaccine, and the sentiment has been met with mockery.

Under 25s account for three in five jobs lost during the pandemic, a report by the Prince’s Trust found.

Statistics from November 2020 showed the unemployment rate for 16-24 year-olds had risen by more than the increase for any other age group, and sat at 14.2 per cent.

Hancock argues that getting the jab benefitted not just a person’s own health, but society in general.

“In the case of a vaccine for a communicable disease, it’s not just the benefit to all of us as individuals, it’s the benefit to the whole of society from all of us getting the jab,” he told the Today programme.

In September, announcing new measures after a spike of cases in Bolton, Hancock said: “Young people don’t just spread the virus to each other, they spread the virus to their parents and their grandparents.

“They spread it to those they come in contact with and to others who they love.

“Now I know social distancing can be hard, and how it can be extra tough for students who will be starting University, but please stick with it and play your part in getting this virus under control.”

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Shock, students weren’t mentioned yet again in Johnson’s press conference yesterday

• Jacob Rees-Mogg joined a uni Zoom lecture, only to get repeatedly muted and pranked

• Students’ return to campus ‘might be delayed’ until September, Boris Johnson admits