Financial incentives may not be sufficient to achieve a vaccination rate of 80%

Financial incentives may not be sufficient to achieve a vaccination rate of 80%

There remains a significant proportion of the population whose resistance to vaccination will be difficult to change, regardless of what incentive we use .

Experts generally agree that a vaccination rate of at least 80% is needed among people 12 years and older to achieve enough herd immunity to stop larger outbreaks.

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Possible incentives

There may be some easy "nudges" to influence the unencumbered. Of those who are unwilling or unsure about vaccination, an Australian survey finds that no more than 6% of those over 50 and no more than 16% of those between 18 and 49 say they are you can change an incentive such as a cash payment.

The chart below shows the responses of survey participants ages 18-49 for hypothetical $ 25, $ 50, and $ 100 cash incentives for getting vaccinated right away. Slightly more of the participants were willing to accept the $ 100 payment on the smaller cash amounts.

Survey Results Show In 1

This suggests that many more people are unlikely to be willing to get vaccinated. If cash payments only work for a small proportion, what about other incentives? One option is a normal vaccine passport, allowing people who have been vaccinated to enjoy everyday activities, such as dining at a restaurant, attending a concert, or traveling. But this may not increase vaccination rates by more than a few percentage points.

Stronger legally binding restrictions could include absolute vaccination requirements for work, school, daycare, and movement within society. In principle, this is nothing new: children must be vaccinated in order to enroll in schools . However, the mandatory heavy-handed vaccination policies are liable to be challenged by some.

So a small percentage of people are probably not going to be able to get vaccinated. It is also likely that the unvaccinated will be at a much higher risk of disease, long-term medical consequences, and even death. They will bear these consequences as individuals.