China’s Covid-19 vaccine drive ramps up as Beijing rolls out incentives from eggs to shopping vouchers
- After setting a goal to vaccinate 40 per cent of its 1.4 billion-strong population by the end of June, China has a steep task ahead of it
- In Beijing, local authorities are pulling out all the stops to coax people into getting vaccinated, from public pressure to free shopping vouchers
With one eye on the long line that snaked out in front of her, Beijing resident Wang Shuhui softly shook her head in frustration.
After twice being summoned by her neighbourhood committee to get her Covid-19 vaccination, the woman in her 60s had finally relented and was now stuck in a queue with nearly 100 people waiting to get an injection.
Posters advertising the area’s vaccination drive have sprouted up all over in recent weeks, from the white walls of the Yonghe Lama Temple to residential buildings near the Russian embassy.
To encourage more elderly to get the jab, Beixianqiao subdistrict office has even announced a reward of two boxes of eggs to everyone above 60 that received a second dose.
“The eggs don’t matter,” Wang said as she waited in the basement of a community building. “What matters most is that the residential committee keeps urging me [to get the vaccine].”
From public pressure to shopping vouchers, authorities in China are pulling out all the stops to coax people into getting vaccinated.