China incentivises its vaccination drive with free eggs and other goods

With China's population largely reluctant to receiving the vaccine, the government is now incentivising its inoculation campaign with free eggs, coupons and discounts on merchandise. The nation has been giving about millions of jabs in a day as their goal is to vaccinate 560 million citizens by June.

When Wuhan had its first few virus patients, the entire city was locked down and since then China has been strict with border control and has even been implementing localised lockdowns whenever a cluster pops up. With the risk of infection low, many do not feel the need to be vaccinated.

One of the reasons why China has been ramping up its vaccination campaign is so the nation can open its doors and also host the Winter Olympics next year in February. For now, China has brought in coupons and bus rides and free eggs to those who decide to get vaccinated. But many are still reluctant, especially about the efficacy of the vaccine, having been developed in such a short period.

With accelerated campaign, China is aiming to achieve herd immunity. But experts say to achieve that, at least a billion citizens would have to receive the vaccine. As of April, about 34 million Chinese have received two doses of the vaccine already.

Even though the vaccine is voluntary, many are getting the dose just so they dont have to deal with the restrictions put in place by local institutions. Some students have gotten the vaccine as it means they no longer need approval to leave their college campus. Breaking COVID protocol could mean dire consequences.