Finance Minister Igor Matovič presented his proposal to reward people who persuade others to get jabbed against Covid. (source: TASR)
The Finance Ministry has come up with a new idea to motivate people to be vaccinated against Covid.
The Ministry hopes to increase the share of vaccinated people by offering a financial reward through a state vaccination lottery, with prizes worth up to €2 million. Another financial reward should motivate people to persuade others to register for the jab.
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Both schemes should be part of a draft law authored by the Finance Ministry, which the parliament should discuss on July 1, the SITA newswire reported.
The issue of increasing the share of vaccinated people became even more pressing after the first people infected with the Delta variant of the coronavirus were revealed. Yet, some experts hesitate on saying whether money is the right motivation.
Vaccinated people will also take part
The vaccination bonus should be given to people selected in a weekly lottery. The plan is to distribute up to €2 million in total a week, said Finance Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO), adding that the exact sum should be set by the cabinet after the respective law is adopted by the MPs.
“It may be between zero and €2 million,” he added, as quoted by SITA.
Anyone older than 18 years will be able to take part in the lottery, including those who have already been vaccinated.
A bonus for “mediators”
Another financial tool is a bonus for people who will persuade others to get vaccinated. The person who is persuaded should be older than 18 and should receive at least the first shot between July 1 and October 31, 2021.
The bonus for the “mediator” will depend on age. If they manage to persuade a person younger than 50, it will amount to €30; if the person is 50-60 years old, it will be €60; and if the person is older than 60 years, it will be €90.
The Finance Ministry plans to create a website where every person vaccinated against Covid will be able to register. They should subsequently receive a code, which they will give to the mediator, the Denník E economic daily reported.
In Matovič’s opinion, it is better to spend €100 million to support vaccination than witness the high economic losses caused by a third pandemic wave, as reported by SITA.
His ministry has been working on the proposals for four weeks, with the support of the coalition council, and Matovič expects the proposals to pass.
