COVID-19 has affected virtually everyone on the planet in a multitude of different ways, and more than 18 months into the pandemic, it is still hurtling along at full speed in many parts of the world. Respite, however, is in sight, thanks to the promising impacts of vaccines in the countries which have been fortunate enough to receive them in quantities which have enabled them to vaccinate a substantial portion of their population.
The impact of the vaccines
The USA is no different, and life in the middle of 2021 is a far cry from what it was just a few months earlier thanks to a relatively successful program. By and large, the regions which continue to have the most pressing problems with the disease, both in terms of rates of infection and incidence of serious illness, are those with relatively low vaccination rates, which is yet another indication of their efficacy.
However, hesitancy is still abound in many parts of the country, with large segments of the community either tentative or unwilling to get the jab. Certainly, one can understand the desire to understand what is being put inside one’s body, though at this stage, given the overwhelming evidence, it appears to almost certainly be the best – and only – way out of the pandemic.
There have been numerous conversations surrounding how best to educate people about the efficacy of these vaccinations, as well as discussions about either incentives to get them or punishments for not. The latter of these, unsurprisingly, has come under a significant amount of criticism, with many questioning the rights of a government to punish people for a health decision which they theoretically have the right to make. Incentives for vaccination, however, falls into a slightly different basket, focusing on providing something to those doing something beneficial to the community rather than taking something away from those who don’t.
Incentives to get jabs in arms
At a state level
Exactly what these incentives could be have varied, and many different industries have come up with potential solutions of their own. Under President Joe Biden, the American government has now attempted to join that party. It doesn’t fall under the role of the federal government, so he has suggested to states that they offer $100 to those who get vaccinated. They would be able to use money from what is called the American Rescue Plan, which is a fund containing $1.9 trillion USD.
Biden himself noted certain inequities in the plan, namely that those who are already vaccinated wouldn’t be eligible for the payments. However, he noted the community-wide advantages to the plan, saying that ‘we all benefit if we can get more people vaccinated’. It’s certainly not a life-changing amount of money, but a small incentive like that could certainly be enough to get some people heading out to get the jab. This would particularly be the case for those who aren’t necessarily opposed to the vaccines, but are instead indifferent or simply haven’t bothered to get around to getting it.
At a federal level
The federal government has also indicated a financial way in which they themselves will be able to contribute to the national vaccination effort, rather than relying on the states to implement measures as they would in the $100 payment plan. Biden has stated that his government will be reimbursing either small or medium sized businesses who give employees paid time off in order to get vaccinated.
Clearly, this will ensure these businesses have no reason to remove payment from those who take a morning or a day off work in order to get vaccinated. Without this payment, these smaller businesses may not have the ability to provide paid time off work to their employees who may need to get vaccinated, and this in turn would disincentivise those employees from getting vaccinated if there is a chance they will have their pay reduced. If the two aforementioned plans combined were implemented simultaneously, these employees would be eligible to continue being paid for work while getting vaccinated, while also receiving an extra $100 for getting the jab – presuming individuals are eligible for both payment plans, which there has been no suggestion that they would not be.
There’s no doubt that the phase of the pandemic in which we currently find ourselves has changed – or at least, it has in the USA. Though it is still an illness which can afflict anyone, the vast majority of those who fall seriously ill are unvaccinated. In fact, a study last month demonstrated that more than 99% of deaths from COVID-19 have been to those who have not been vaccinated. The areas of the country which are seeing more significant rises in total number of cases also tend to be those with lower vaccination rates, suggesting that these vaccinations are having the desired impact of limiting:
-infection rates -spread of the virus -the probability of it having a seriously detrimental effect on the health of those who do contract it.
Vaccination rates across the USA are reasonably high compared to most countries in the world, but evidently the higher the percentage of vaccinated people, the better the outcome for the community as a whole. Invariably there will always be sceptical segments of the population, but if there is a way to convince them of the efficacy of these vaccines and get jabs in their arms, the evidence suggests it will be better for everyone, and these suggested payment plans may help to do just that.