TV, Fridge, Utensils: Vaccine Incentives Multiple in India Ahead of Looming Third COVID Wave

In a bid to motivate reluctant Indians to get vaccinated, incentive-based inoculation drives are being organised by local communities in different parts of the country.

In Punjab's Bhatinda city, a hospital has organised a lottery for people getting the jab – the prizes include a 43-inch smart LED TV and a fridge, Indian media reported on Thursday. 

Similar incentives are also happening in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 

Many people across India are still hesitant to get the COVID jab. Last month in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, villagers attacked medics who arrived to vaccinate people. It's believed the widespread reluctance is due to misinformation and conspiracy theories, including that getting vaxxed can cause sudden death. 

In a small village near Tamil Nadu’s Ulundurpet district, 30-year-old R Thambidurai has been running an incentive-based vaccination drive since the beginning of June. He's been handing out items like lunch boxes, kitchen utensils, and tumblers in a bid to encourage people to get the jab. 

“My trick worked and 80 people from the village took the dose, which is over thrice the number of persons who took the vaccine on the first two days. Actually, more people would have taken the jab if vaccine stock was available. The medical team had brought less vials considering the previous days’ turnout,” Thambidurai told the Indian Express.

In Assam, the government has made it possible for people to give the vaccination as a gift for anniversaries and birthdays, for example. 

“If we take responsibility to vaccinate one or two persons at our own expense it will be great for our society," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in May.

The Indian government is trying to inoculate as many people as possible as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s instruction.

Earlier in April, the goldsmith community of Gujarat state’s Surat city started offering gold nose-pins and hand blenders to people who were getting vaccination.