Governments Offer Creative Awards for People to Get Vaccine

Governments and businesses in Asia and North America are offering prizes or gifts to people who get vaccinated¹ against COVID-19. The awards include money, animals, apartments, beer and more.

Asia

From Thailand to Indonesia to Hong Kong, Asian governments are offering different vaccination² prizes.

In Thailand's Mae Chaem area in northern Chiang Mai, most residents raise cows. So local officials have launched a cow raffle³ this month. A raffle is a game that involves people getting numbered tickets in exchange for a chance to win a prize.

Sixty-five-year-old Inkham Thongkham won a one-year-old female cow worth $320 after he received his coronavirus vaccine⁴.

Thongkham described the prize as "the best gift ever."

Officials said the campaign, now in its second week, had led more than 50 percent of people in the area to sign up to get vaccines⁵.

Many across Asia have been unsure about getting vaccinated, with widespread disinformation fueling concerns about vaccines.

In Hong Kong, free airline flights and a new apartment worth $1.4 million are among the prizes being offered to those who have been vaccinated. Some businesses in the Chinese territory have gone even further, offering paid time off to vaccinated individuals.

Even in countries hit hard by the coronavirus, such as Indonesia, governments have struggled to reduce vaccine fears. Among Indonesian Muslims - who make up more than 85 percent of the nation's population - many are worried whether the vaccines are considered halal, or permissible⁶, by Islam.

Asep Saepudin is a 67-year-old resident of Cipanas, in Indonesia's West Java province. "I was afraid that if I was vaccinated, I would die immediately ... Then there was more worrying news that this vaccine contained pork," Saepudin said.

Officials in Cipanas say it has been especially difficult to persuade the elderly that the vaccines are safe and halal. As in Thailand, officials have also turned to animal prizes, offering live chickens for each elderly, or older, person who gets a shot.

"Elderly people don't want to be vaccinated for various reasons. Some say they want to but don't come, some are even afraid," said the local police chief, Galih Aprian. "So we reward (their vaccinations⁷) with chickens."

United States

Asia is not the only part of the world where governments are giving prizes for vaccinations. Many American states are doing it too.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, for example, recently gave out $1.5 million each to 10 vaccinated winners to mark the end of the state's coronavirus restrictions⁸.

The $15 million total was the final part of Newsom's $116.5 million "Vax for the Win" program. It was part of a larger effort to persuade residents to get vaccinated and speed up California's recovery in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Governors Association's website gives a list of different gift or prize programs U.S. states offer. Some of the programs give money, while others offer different experiences.

The website notes that in Alabama, the Talladega Superspeedway offered people aged⁹ 16 and older the chance to drive their car or truck on the race track.

In the month of May, New Jersey¹⁰ partnered with different beer makers¹¹, known as breweries¹², to give people over the age of 21 a free beer. The program had special conditions and required evidence of vaccination.

Emily Largent of the University of Pennsylvania is an expert on medical issues and health policy. Largent told AARP that using gifts or prizes can appeal to different kinds of people as a way to get them to seek the vaccine.

Largent suggested the offers may be helpful for people who are less concerned about the public health benefits of vaccinations.

Words in This Story

reward – v. money or another kind of payment that is given or received for something that has been done or that is offered for something that might be done

track – n. an often circular path or road that is used for racing¹³

benefit – n. a good or helpful result

1 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

2 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

3 raffle   

n.废物，垃圾，抽奖售卖；v.以抽彩出售

参考例句：

• The money was raised by the sale of raffle tickets.这笔款子是通过出售购物彩券筹集的。
• He won a car in the raffle.他在兑奖售物活动中赢得了一辆汽车。

4 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

5 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

6 permissible   

adj.可允许的，许可的

参考例句：

• Is smoking permissible in the theatre?在剧院里允许吸烟吗？
• Delay is not permissible,even for a single day.不得延误，即使一日亦不可。

7 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 breweries   

酿造厂，啤酒厂( brewery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some cases, this is desirable, but most breweries prefer lighter-type beers. 在一些情况下，这是很理想的，但是大多数啤酒厂更倾向于生产酒度较低的啤酒。
• Currently, there are 58 breweries producing Snow Beeracross the country. 目前，全国共有58个雪花啤酒厂。

13 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。