From cheap biryani to free beer, Indian stores offer Covid-19 deals for vaccinated customers
- India’s high rate of vaccine hesitancy is impeding the government’s aim to inoculate 300 million people by August, with some in rural areas saying God will protect them
- Businesses and officials are hoping that creative deals, such as free tomatoes, cheap lunches or even free jewellery, might offer some encouragement
Facebook’s Covid-19 Symptom Survey puts the rate of India’s vaccine hesitancy – defined by the World Health Organization as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services” – as high as 28.7 per cent, fuelled by misinformation, rumours and a lack of trust in the government.
Vaccine shortages and slow implementation of immunisation drives are further threatening to derail the government’s aim to vaccinate 300 million Indians by August, experts say.
According to health ministry data, about 22 per cent of India’s 1.38 billion people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 as at June 10.
Gripped by fear that another lockdown may completely cripple their businesses already battered by the first wave, entrepreneurs are exploring every possibility to reignite consumer interest in India, where the Covid-19 caseload has reached nearly 30 million and death toll is about 400,000, though disease experts have pegged the real figures at five to 10 times more.
Some food and beverage establishments are offering discounts ranging from 15 to 30 per cent to customers who are able to show their vaccination certificates at the time of placing their order.