Will Hong Kong's Vaccine Prizes Improve Vaccination Rates?
For months, Hong Kongs leaders have fretted about the citys low COVID-19 vaccination rates. Despite vaccines being plentiful, free and available to anyone who wants one at a slew community health centers, just 18% of the citys 7.5 million people chose to get a shot between February and the end of May. But, there are signs that some of that vaccine hesitancy may be subsiding. In the last three weeks, the average number of people receiving their first COVID-19 shot each day has more than doubled, and the portion of residents with at least one dose has climbed to nearly 22%. Its a trend that coincides with two developments. First, businesses in the Chinese territory began giving away a diverse array of high-end prizes, totaling an estimated $15 million, for residents who get the jab. The offerings include a private party on an Airbus A321neo passenger plane, gold bars worth more than $130,000, a Tesla Model 3 Long Range and, most notably, a $1.4 million apartmentan eye-catching prize in one of the worlds most expensive real estate markets. The other development is a COVID-19 outbreak involving the more contagious Delta virus variant across the border in the Mainland city of Guangzhou, which authorities are struggling to contain. Some Hong Kong residents have family in Guangzhou, and the cities have strong economic ties, as well. Its not clear which impulse is driving more people to vaccination clinicsthe chance to win fabulous prizes, or the fear of a new outbreakbut convincing Hongkongers, one of the most hesitant populations in the developed world, to get the COVID-19 vaccine could offer lessons for reaching other vaccine-hesitant communities. In the last week or two there has been a bump in the levels of interest in getting vaccination in people who have not yet received vaccination, says Ben Cowling, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Some of that could be due to the latest incentives.  The roots of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy  There are myriad reasons for Hong Kongs uninspiring vaccination ratesincluding low trust in the Hong Kong government and Hong Kongs relatively good handling of the pandemic so far. A YouGov survey of 21 places around the world found Hong Kong residents had the most vaccine hesitancywith just 37% of respondents saying they had been or would like to get vaccinated. For the U.S., that number was 69%. Many residents dont feel they need a vaccine to protect themselves, unlike places like the U.S. and U.K., which experienced severe outbreaks and used vaccinations to help suppress COVID-19. But the surge in cases in the region driven by new variants could be instilling a sense of urgency to get vaccinated, which experts say is crucial to prevent a fifth wave of infections in the city. Read More: Southeast Asia Kept COVID-19 Under Control For Most of the Pandemic. Now Its Battling Worrying New Surges  Hong Kong ended a 42-day streak of zero untraceable local infections on June 5 when it confirmed a case involving the Alpha coronavirus variant, first discovered in the U.K. Just across the border in Guangdong province, Chinese authorities have implemented lockdowns and mass testing over an outbreak driven by the variant first found in India. Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan is in the grip of its first major COVID-19 surge since the pandemic began. Countries across Southeast Asia are battling worrying outbreaks, and Japan is fighting a stubborn fourth COVID-19 wave. A surge in vaccine interest following a surge in infections is not uncommonTaiwan and India are among the places where demand for COVID-19 shots languished until cases spiked. Pedestrians walk past the Grand Central (R) residential building complex in Hong Kong on May 28, 2021, where a 1.4 million USD (10.8 million HKD) one-bedroom apartment has been offered for a lucky draw's grand prize for which all Hong Kong residents aged 18 and above who have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccines will be eligible to register. Anthony WallaceAFP/Getty Images  Hong Kong isnt the only place experimenting with giveaways to convince people to get jabbedseveral U.S. states are offering lottery prizes, some with multimillion dollar payouts. President Joe Biden announced a package of incentives ranging from free beer to childcare and a district in northern Thailand is raffling off live cows. But Hong Kongs growing vaccine lottery may be the most diverse anywhere in the world. Among the prizes for grabs include a year of free stays at the luxury Shangri-La Hotels, a vintage diamond-encrusted Rolex, rare tea leaves that legend says once cured an emperors ailing mother and health insurance. A bank is offering inoculated people a higher-than-average interest rate. A financial services company is handing out stock in an environmental company worth about $200,000. Hong Kongs airport authority will give away 60,000 air tickets and 500 people will win unlimited rides on the citys subway system for a year. Even the Hong Kongs gas utility is offering giftcards in a giveaway. Paul McGarry, the head of Asia at the Goodman Group, who is offering the Tesla, tells TIME that he noticed hesitancy among his staff and the wider community to get vaccinations after the citys vaccine drive began in February. The common message I heard was Ill sign up later,' he says. We thought this could be a good way to generate some publicity for the vaccination program and by putting a timeline on it, a sense of urgency, says McGarry. Read More: Hong Kong Is Testing Out a Vaccine Passport for Bars. Most of the prizes up for grabs are being offered by the private sector. Many companies in Hong Kong are also giving their staff incentives to get vaccinated, including cash bonuses and extra time off (Goodman, a global property group, reached a 100% vaccination rate among its staff after offering $1,100 to get a shot by the end of May). We think that vaccines are an important step for Hong Kong being able to return to a pre-pandemic way of life, says McGarry. We wanted to do whatever we could do as good corporate citizens, hopefully others follow with their own incentives and lotteries.  But experts say the measures still might not be enough to sufficiently improve vaccination levels. Current HKU estimates show that only about 55% of the population are interested in getting vaccinated by September, when many of the community vaccination centers will shutter. More to do  Cowling and other experts are beginning to urge the Hong Kong government to offer bigger-picture incentives. The government has made minor concessions to the social distancing rules, but it has yet to make meaningful changes for vaccinated people. Vaccinated people can go to bars and nightclubs and stay later in restaurants. Border quarantine measures, which are among the strictest in the world, have been reduced from 21 to 14 days for vaccinated travelers arriving from most countries. Cowling says relaxing measures like the requirement for quarantine for incoming travelers could help convince people to get vaccinated. For fully vaccinated people theres a really a minimal risk of infection a minimal risk of onwards transmission, says Cowling, and fairly soon, it should be time to start relaxing the COVID policies on vaccinated people like the policy for universal masking and for social distancing and gatherings and so on.  The list of items that vaccinated people can win continues to grow for Hong Kongs vaccine giveaways, most of which require entrants to have received both jabs by the end of August or the beginning of September to be eligible. It remains to be seen how high the growing prize list will push the citys vaccination rates, but McGarry says hes been inundated with questions about when the lottery opens and how people can sign up to win the Tesla. The Coronavirus Brief. Everything you need to know about the global spread of COVID-19 Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Amy Gunia at amy.gunia@time.com.