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Ten University of Sussex 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 University of Sussex 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.

Kelly Coate, 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 Sussex community. These prizes are our way of saying thank you. Congratulations to the winners."

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