Lili Dinata, a 72-year-old local of Sindanglaya village, is being rewarded with a live chicken by Galih Apria, the district police chief, after receiving his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, during a door-to-door vaccination in Cianjur regency, West Java province, Indonesia, on June 15, 2021. (Reuters photo)
By Reuters
June 17 2021
Chickens, cows, paid leave, even a million-dollar apartment, these are the prizes on offer from Thailand to Indonesia to Hong Kong for those who get vaccinated against COVID-19 as nations across Asia combat vaccine hesitancy.
As more transmissible variants of the virus have driven a surge in cases in Southeast Asia in recent weeks, authorities have started offering chances in lucky draws for vaccinations.
In Thailand’s Mae Chaem district in northern Chiang Mai, where most residents are cattle farmers, authorities launched a cow raffle this month that is proving to be a hit.
“This is the best gift ever,” said 65-year-old Inkham Thongkham, upon winning a one-year-old female cow worth 10,000 baht (US$320) after he received his coronavirus vaccine.
Now in its second week and with 27 cows to award, authorities say the campaign has prompted more than 50 percent of the 1,400 residents in the district — many elderly and in high-risk groups — to register for their vaccines.
Out of Thailand’s population of 66 million, just 4.76 million have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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