UK: Vaccinated young people rewarded with holiday vouchers, free cab rides

By Pilar Tomas

London, Aug 19 (EFE).- Young people in the United Kingdom are being offered free cab rides, gift vouchers for holidays and discounts on food and clothes in exchange of getting jabbed against Covid-19 in a drive to boost vaccination.

With some 30,000 new coronavirus cases and 100 deaths a day, the government is aiming to accelerate its vaccination scheme ahead of winter, but is facing reluctance from some groups of people.

All 16 and 17 years olds in England will be eligible to book their appointment to get their first dose from August 23.

But among the most hesitant are those between the ages of 16 to 25, who don’t consider getting vaccinated against coronavirus a priority.

“I feel like at the moment it is not really a priority, I think the main focus of getting a vaccine right now is if you want to travel or do something bigger than just being around,” Aleksandrs Birzins, a 20-year-old student living in England, told Efe.

Among the latest companies to reward people who get vaccinated are supermarket chain Asda, travel company lastminute.com and cab-hailing app Freenow.

Uber, Deliveroo and Bolt already form part of the campaign offering discounts and free rides among others.

“We all like discounts, of course it’s a good idea,” 16-year-old Trisha  told Efe.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the leading businesses to join the vaccine uptake drive.