As I write, the percentage of people in the UK who have had a first dose of a Covid vaccine stands at 88.6%; and those who have been double jabbed is 72.7%.

A very decent take-up.  But there is still that tricky percentage of the population who remain stupidly stubbornly unvaccinated.  What do you do to persuade them to have the jab?  

In the US, President Joe Biden is offering $100 per person to incentivise the unvaccinated to have the jab.  In the UK, Boris is doing something similar by doling out free kebabs.

Cash or kebabs?  I think both are a mistake.  The idea of incentivising vaccinations is setting a dangerous precedent.

What will happen this winter?  The call will go out for all the over-50s to have their annual flu jab and no-one will take it up until they’ve been bunged a Maccy D’s and large fries at the same time.

There should be no need for a carrot when it comes to vaccinations.  The vaccination itself is already a carrot.  You shouldn’t need to be given a carrot to get a carrot.

© Simon Turner-Tree

Simon Turner-Tree doesn’t want a kebab as a carrot.

Simon is author of the books This Pedestrian Life and Watching Life Pass Me By