We would say that Washington "bribes" 12-17 year olds with free AirPods if they are vaccinated. They even offer their parents a $ 51 Visa gift card for every teen they consent to get vaccinated.
Do you think it's a Greek phenomenon to be rewarded for getting vaccinated? No. On Saturday, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, taking into account the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant, announced that starting this weekend, teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 who get their first vaccine at select area high schools will receive free AirPods!!.
In addition to AirPods, young people will also take part in a weekly draw starting at the end of the month to win an iPad with headphones (eight winners each week) and a $ 25.000 college scholarship (two winners each week).
The Youth Vaccine Campaign will run from August 7th to September 30th, with weekly raffle for additional prizes starting on August 30th.
Since many of these young people need the consent of their parents to be vaccinated, Bowser has given an adult privilege as well. Parents and guardians will receive a $ 51 Visa gift card for each young person who signs up to get their first vaccine.
While you might be shaking your head in disapproval, Washington isn't the only place offering incentives to get people vaccinated. In June, West Virginia introduced a lottery program with prizes like hunting rifles, shotguns, new trucks, $1 million, and lifetime hunting and fishing licenses.
Around the same time, California announced it would provide $50.000 every Friday and give away 30 prizes of that amount, as well as six paid vacations. In Hawaii , meanwhile, employees were given airline miles, round-trip flights on Southwest Airlines, a year of free pizza and more.
As it seems our people here with the gray 150 euros in a gift card, do not have as much imagination as the Americans.
According to the Washington government , as of Aug. 2, about 64,6% of residents had received at least one dose of the vaccine. An estimated 55,1% were fully vaccinated. Nationally, 71% of people over the age of 18 have received at least one dose, and 61,1% of those groups are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday. The US capital has had 51.103 cases of Covid-19 since March 2020.
Dimitris hates Mondays...
