Sir Ed Davey: Government should pay young people to get Covid jab

31 July 2021, 12:23

Ed Davey: Government should consider paying young people to be jabbed

The Lib Dem leader believes the Government must find ways to 'incentivise and encourage' young people to get vaccinated.

As preparations are made to make domestic vaccine passports compulsory Sir Ed Davey spoke to Iain Dale to stress his opposition to the proposals.

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"The real problem is young people" the leader of the Liberal Democrats claimed, adding that "young people, for reasons I'm happy to explain, haven't been as vaccinated as other people" and this must be tackled.

He hit out at the current plans to tackle the issue: "It looks like the Government in order to tackle that problem are going to force people to be vaccinated to go to a nightclub – I just think that's the wrong approach"

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Sir Ed told Iain that the UK should "look at what President Biden's doing," referencing the US President's plan to pay young people to get jabbed.

Iain couldn't believe his ears: "You surely aren't suggesting that we should be paying people to be vaccinated are you?"

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"I think we should look at that model," the Lib Dem leader replied.

"They're going to spend millions of pounds on a Covid ID system, when they could have spent that money on incentivising [vaccination]."

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He went on to share his point of view: "i believe in incentivising and encouraging people by giving them the correct information, not by coercion."

Iain wondered how Sir Ed would approach such a system, given that countless 20 year olds who have already got the jab wouldn't be paid.

"I want us to look at that, I'm not saying that's the best route," he clarified.

Sir Ed warned that the "coercive" model the Government are adopting is wrong, and it is "going to affect huge amounts of young people."