As Australia’s vaccine figures continue to race up, freedoms are retuning in abundance – or, if you’re in one of the states that never locked down, presumably you’re taking some comfort in knowing that the rest of the country is pulling itself together.
Still, while beers down the pub are nice, there’s one thing that we’ve really all been holding out for when it comes to vaccine incentives and that is cold hard cash.
Remember when Albanese tried to force the government to give everyone who got the vax $300 dollars and for a while, it looked like we might actually be about to live out a real-life version of that Futurama episode?
Well, the government shut that one down real quick but private organisations and philanthropists have stepped in to deliver the goods.
It’s called the Million Dollar Vax campaign and it’s set to dish out $4.1 million worth of prizes across the next few weeks with one lucky winner being selected for a one million dollar prize.
Over the remaining days in October, $100,000 will be given away every single day in the form of 100 $1,000 gift cards.
All you need to do is head to the website, put in your details, and, if you’re selected, provide proof of your vaccination.
Anyone can enter as long as they’ve had at least one dose of the vaccine and will be fully vaccinated by 13 December.
The campaign has been created by the Million Dollar Vax Alliance, a group of philanthropists and corporations focused on accelerating Australia’s vaccination programme throughout October with the aim to drive vaccination rates above 80% nationally as quickly as possible.
The campaign is targeting areas of the country with low vaccination rates, areas with high density of unvaccinated citizens.
The Million Dollar Vax has been inspired by the successful Ohio ‘Vax-A-Million’ campaign in the United States, which is estimated to have saved more than $60M in averted healthcare costs and contributed to an increase in vaccine take-up.
Craig Winkler of the Million Dollar Vax Alliance said the campaign is all about rewarding people for getting the jab.
“The purpose of the promotion is not to convince people to be vaccinated. That’s a decision you should make in consultation with a health professional,” he said.
“The promotion simply seeks to reward people who decide to be vaccinated now rather than waiting, so that we can reduce the community impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The aim is to accelerate Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination program in a safe way throughout the month of October. The faster we reach higher vaccination rates nationally, higher than 80%, the sooner we all can safely resume our full range of community and business activity.”
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