More creative incentives for vaccines are being encouraged in Asia

The coronavirus pandemic persists. Delta mutations are spreading, and governments around the world are considering how to increase vaccination coverage. The fight against lack of interest in vaccines takes many forms. In addition to monetary rewards, more creative incentives are being promoted, especially in Asia. People can join lotteries and win an apartment, a brick of pure gold, a cow or a bag of rice. In addition to governments, companies also organize competitions to motivate vaccination. For example, the Hong Kong developer Sino Group organized a lottery, in which the main prize is a new apartment worth about 10.8 million Hong Kong dollars. Cathay Pacific Airways is giving away 20 million air miles. The main winner will be able to have a private party aboard the new Airbus A321neo. And McDonald’s Indian fast food outlets have a 20 percent discount on everyone vaccinated. Another Hong Kong company, or an organization associating companies trading in gold, is distributing twenty kilogram bricks of pure gold as part of a competition for vaccinated commemorative gold. It donates a total of 110 people, getting rid of gold worth 1.1 million Hong Kong dollars, informs CNBC. The reason for similar actions in Asia is the delta mutation, the fear of another wave of pandemics and the related low vaccination coverage of the population. In this respect, Hong Kong is still doing well, as of August 11, according to global statistics Our World in Data, 37 percent of the population has been vaccinated. But other Asian countries are much worse off. In the Philippines, for example, only eleven percent of the population have both doses of the vaccine. The Philippine authorities are trying to promote interest among the people. The city of Las Pinas, for example, organizes a lottery in which residents can win a house, motorcycles or food if they get vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Manila Times. Just a few miles from Las Pinas on the outskirts of the Manila capital, vaccinated people have a chance to take a 25-kilogram bag of rice every week. The Philippine community of San Luis Pampanga recently launched a campaign to give vaccinees a chance to win a cow. The aim of similar initiatives is to motivate the poor part of society with the idea of a full stomach.