WeeklySA_AdminOFFER:Millions offered to get the jab
By Thuli Zungu
When something happens and life becomes too much to bear some people give up, but with the Covid-19 pandemic, every country is desperate not to give up on its citizens.
In a move to encourage citizens to take the vaccine jab, most countries globally think only the incentives could provide motivation to the residents but some of these incentives are more like a pie in the sky.
In some countries people’s expectations are raised after being offered lottery tickets to participate in the draw of up to millions of dollars or euros. While others win millions, this has raised people’s expectations as the tickets were limited to a few winners who participated, Weekly SA Mirror has noted.
To fish for more vaccinated people, they dangle beers, lottery tickets and vacations . Achievable though is a shot and a beer which is one of the incentives offered in New Jersey, USA.
In partnership with the Brewer’s Guild of New Jersey, the Governor’s Office launched the “Shot and a Beer” programme to encourage eligible New Jerseyans ages 21 and over to get vaccinated. Their first vaccine dose in the month of May took their vaccination card to a participating brewery and received a free beer, courtesy of the participating brewery. This programme ended on May 31.
There is also the California “Vax for the Win” 10 winners Which was launched on June 15 to win cash prizes of $1.5 million each.
Any Californian ages 12 or over who has had at least one dose of the vaccine would be eligible to win. If a minor wins, the funds would be put into a savings account until they turned 18.
In May and June, the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo provided free tickets to Mets games and to Yankee games for newly vaccinated people, along with another promotion that gave residents free weekly subway passes.
Every person who received the COVID-19 vaccine, either a first dose or single dose of Johnson & Johnson, anywhere in New York State was eligible to receive a free two-day pass to any state park.
In West Virginia incentives include a “Do it for Babydog: Save a Life, Change a life” incentive in which the giveaway will include a $1.588 million grand prize, a $588,000 second prize, weekly drawings for $1 million, full scholarships to any West Virginia state college or university, trucks, weekend vacations at state parks, lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, custom hunting rifles and custom hunting shotguns.
Meanwhile, Maine offered “Your Shot to Get Outdoors” campaign. Any Maine resident aged 18 and older who get their first shot of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the single shot of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Maine, would qualify for either a fishing licence or a hunting license.
Some vaccination programmes provided free lottery scratch-off tickets to individuals aged 18 and over with a grand prize of $5 million.
To promote vaccination, the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) sponsored a TikTok contest for the youth to encourage vaccination against COVID-19 before the beginning of the school year. TikTok videos can be submitted between July 16 – August 6, 2021. A panel of judges comprising advertising professionals and ADPH personnel will select four winners who will each be awarded a $250 Visa gift card.
Here in South Africa, citizens are offered cheap insurance for a jab by Discovery insurance company. To keep citizens warm, Wimpy will be offering a hot filtered coffee for a Jab for citizens within 48 hours after vaccination. Citizens have also joined the bandwagon and a Jacaranda FM listener suggested that the motor industry consider a car raffle for those who had received the jab.
Jolene Samuels 35, of Cape Wineland rewards locals for getting their jabs. She started a social media campaign to get her community vaccinated and rewards them and her friends are loving it. To redeem this, friends have to send proof that they had been vaccinated.
In Limpopo, the provincial government wants to lobby the hardest hit industry not to sell alcohol to the unvaccinated.
