Zurich, Oct. 1 (BNA) The Swiss government said on Friday that Switzerland is offering gift certificates to people who convince others of their exposure to COVID-19 as part of efforts to increase the country’s low vaccination rate.
The government said that each newly vaccinated person will be asked to name one person who convinced them to get vaccinated, and that person will receive a gift code of 50 Swiss francs ($53.68) to help them.
The local authorities will decide where to use the voucher, for example in cinemas or restaurants.
“Everyone can help convince a friend, neighbour, co-worker or family member of the benefits of vaccination,” the government said. This cooperation should be rewarded by the population.”
Switzerland has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe, with only 58% of the country’s population of 8.7 million being vaccinated.
The country has received 11.9 million vaccine doses so far, and provided 10.4 million doses. There have been many protests against the vaccination campaign by anti-vaccination groups.
Despite the decline in the number of coronavirus cases in Switzerland, the government said that the situation in intensive care departments remained tense.
She added that given the large number of unvaccinated individuals and the highly contagious delta variant, there is still a high risk of another wave of infection during the fall and winter months, which could place a heavy burden on hospitals.
The government, which will spend 150 million francs on the campaign, is planning a national vaccination week, with 170 mobile immunization centers.
Switzerland and the neighboring Principality of Liechtenstein have reported more than 840,000 cases of COVID-19, with 10,713 deaths.
AOQ