Poland offers incentives to promote vaccination

WARSAW. – Faced with the challenge of persuading the vaccine skeptics especially among the young and rural segments of the Polish public as the country’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign appears to be losing steam, Poland’s government has decided to offer financial incentives to the vaccine-wary.

The country’s National Vaccination Program Lottery, which kicked off on July 1, has already convinced many Poles to take part – many of whom have been vaccinated earlier this year. Prizes include cash ranging from 200

Polish zloty (US$51) to one million PLN, electric mopeds and hybrid cars.

Smaller cash prizes are drawn immediately, while the larger prizes are handed out weekly. The first draw of larger cash prizes of 50,000 PLN and mopeds was held on July 14.

The top prizes – two cash prizes of one million PLN each and two new cars – will be handed out during the final draw in October. Over two million Poles have already signed up during the first two weeks of July, and more than 4 000 have already received their prizes.

As of Monday, over 32 million vaccine doses had been administered in the country of 38 million.

Vaccination rates vary by the country’s regions. Large cities have seen half or close to half of their total population fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The lottery-based incentives are generally welcomed by those who have favored vaccination from the start, even though their direct benefits are currently unclear.

However, lottery or not, the vaccine-hesitant members of the Polish public appear to be still refusing to get inoculated. – Xinhua.