The Government is set to ‘bribe’ younger people to get jabbed with a ‘vaccines for vouchers’ scheme that will see them offered money off takeaway food.
Uber, Deliveroo, Pizza Pilgrims and Bolt are among the companies taking part in the initiative – with other talks ongoing – in an effort to increase take up across the population.
Around 67% of those aged 18 – 29 in England have so far had a Covid vaccine, according to the Department of Health.
Efforts to boost that number will include offers of vouchers and discounts – but some experts are likely to have health and behavioural concerns over the latest move.
The Taxi app Uber will send reminders to all users this month encouraging them to get jabbed and offer discounted rides and meals on its Uber Eats platform to young adults who receive a vaccine.
Bolt, another ride-hailing app, will offer ‘free ride credit’ to vaccination centres following a similar scheme earlier this year when it offered £250,000 worth of free rides to London vaccination facilities.
Deliveroo is planning to give vouchers to young people who get jabbed.
A company spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘At Deliveroo we want to do our part to support the NHS during the pandemic, including delivering 1 million free meals to frontline NHS staff and vaccine centres. This is the next step in helping people get vaccinated and safely back to normal.’
The Department of Health said further details on partnerships will be released ‘in due course’ and other incentives could include competitions and promotional offers for restaurants.
The Government is reportedly in discussions with McDonalds and Vue cinemas.
However, there are concerns among some scientists about encouraging people to eat unhealthy foods and ‘bribing’ people to get a jab – rather than encouraging them to have one as a social good.
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Others under 30 who have already have a jab may also be irritated that by getting vaccinated promptly they have essentially missed out on financial incentives.
The Office For National Statistics says some 90% of adults under 30 would have a vaccine.
The UK has given first jabs to 88.5% of the adult population and second doses to 72.1%, but the vaccine rollout has slowed dramatically in recent weeks.
Cases have appeared to plateau in recent days, though there are fears that the full lifting of lockdown could result in another rise in infections when the end of social distancing results in more infections.
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