Young people will be offered discounted takeaways and taxi rides to get their Covid-19 vaccinations in a bid to boost vaccine uptake, the government has said.
Photo: AFP
Food delivery and taxi-hailing firms including Uber, Bolt, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims will offer incentives to people to get vaccinated.
The Department of Health and Social Care said details on more partnerships would be released "in due course".
It said about 67 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds in England have had a first vaccination.
Photo: AFP
More than 72 percent of UK adults have had two doses so far, while 88.5 percent have had one.
Ride hailing firm Uber will send reminders to all users in August urging them to get vaccinated - and will offer discounted rides and meals on its Uber Eats platform for young people who have the vaccine.
Bolt, another taxi app firm, will offer "free ride credit" to vaccination centres, while food delivery firm Deliveroo will give vouchers to young people who get vaccinated.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said other incentives could include "vouchers or discount codes for people attending pop-up vaccine sites and booking through the NHS, social media competitions and promotional offers for restaurants".
It added that firms would not request or store any health data for the incentive scheme.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid thanked companies for "stepping up" to help the vaccine drive, and urged people to "take advantage of the discounts".
The announcement of the latest initiative in the government's vaccine drive comes after a string of pop-up vaccine centres opened across England this weekend - with sites including the Summer of Love Festival in west London's Holland Park.
The latest plans come weeks after the government said that people attending nightclubs and other crowded venues in England would need to be fully vaccinated from the end of September.
The announcement was met with some criticism, with Kate Nicholls, the boss of UK Hospitality calling the announcement "a hammer blow" for a struggling industry trying to rebuild, while Mark Harper MP, who chairs the Covid Recovery Group of Conservative backbenchers, said the government was "effectively moving to compulsory vaccination".
The BBC understands that ministers are no longer considering making it compulsory for university students to be fully vaccinated to attend lectures or stay in halls of residence in England - after the foreign secretary previously said students would get "advance warning" if they needed to be fully vaccinated.
- BBC
