This is a project by Lisa Dixon submitted to the BlueDot impact Biosecurity Fundamentals Course
Universities across the UK act as a geographical ‘hub’ bringing students together from across the country and globally as well. Bringing people together from different geographical locations to live and study in close proximity provides incredible opportunities to young people, from both a developmental and career perspective. However, universities (especially at the start of each academic year) are also the perfect place for exchange of pathogens at alarmingly high transmission rates, especially viral and bacterial respiratory infections. In the past, this has been taken for granted; something to joke about, a shared experience that unites university students. But the COVID-19 pandemic has called into light the risks that unchecked transmission at universities can pose to both students and institutions.
With the outbreak of a more serious infection that rivals or surpasses COVID-19 in terms of virulence and/or transmissibility, universities with their current levels of health screening and infrastructure would be put on lockdown. This threatens the mental health and productivity of students, as well as posing a significant financial burden and closure risk to institutions. Closure of universities during a novel pandemic could really hurt academic progress.
This policy proposal aims to establish a network of university-based health screening hubs across the UK to improve detection and reduce transmission of respiratory diseases, including the myriad of viral and bacterial infections which constitute ‘Freshers’ Flu’.
These hubs are designed to safeguard public health, minimise disruptions to university-based research and innovation and create a sustainable framework for university pandemic preparedness.
This policy should apply to all UK higher education institutions, beginning with a pilot programme which is outlined later in the project. The proposed hubs will have two main roles, depending on what I have designated ‘peacetime’ and ‘wartime’:
Peacetime: there is no novel pathogen identified as having pandemic potential
Wartime: a novel pandemic has been identified which is of concern to the UK government (on the scale of COVID-19 or of greater concern)
This report will focus on the ‘peacetime’ operations and stakeholder interactions and outline a collaborative funding model. The primary goal of these hubs is to contribute to everyday public health efforts in universities whilst providing easily adaptable infrastructure that can be utilised in the case of a novel pandemic which poses a biosecurity threat, in order to increase pandemic preparedness. Universities were chosen as a target for these hubs because alongside contributing to critical research that would be impeded by lockdown measures, they are often well-placed within cities to provide pandemic-related vaccination and PPE aid to communities and track cases.