Cash for jabs: Vaccine lottery could still be on the table for vaccinated Australians
Australians could soon be offered lottery prizes and other incentives to encourage adults to get vaccinated as soon as they can.
Australians could soon be offered lottery prizes and other incentives to encourage adults to get vaccinated as soon as they can.
Scott Morrison left the door open to a Covid-19 vaccine lottery despite slamming Labor’s call for $300 in cash to be paid to every Australian who is fully vaccinated.
Warning he’s not going to “pay people off” for getting the jab, the Prime Minister attacked Labor’s cash bonus plan as “bankrupt” during a meeting of Coalition MPs.
The $6 billion plan would offer a $300 bonus to every Australian who is vaccinated by December 1.
But he’s refused to rule out the idea of a vaccine lottery, which would likely be possible at a fraction of the price of offering $300 to every fully vaccinated Australian.
“I think there’s a big difference between something like that, a big difference, not just a fiscal one,’’ Mr Morrison said.
“The fiscal difference is pretty huge I’ve got to say and we have had lots of private offers of how things like that might work and General Frewen and his team have looked at that, but the primary reason why Australians are going to do this is because Australians know it’s good for them, their family and their country and I intend to respect that.”
In Parliament, the Prime Minister slammed Labor’s cash bonus plan as “ll informed, ill disciplined.”
“I think the proposal that has been put forward by the Labor Party and Mr Albanese is a vote of no confidence in Australians,” Mr Morrison said.
“It says to them that their health concerns that they might have about a vaccine can be paid off and I don’t think that’s the beauty of Australians. I’ve seen Australians respond with courage, determination and kindness over the past 18 months.”
During the press conference, Doherty Institute Professor Jodi McVernon said her own research was silent on the question on whether cash incentives would drive a faster take up of vaccines.
However, separate research by the Treasury’s behavioural economics unit has poured cold water over the idea suggesting it wouldn’t be effective.
Vaccine rollout commander Lieutenant General John “JJ” Frewen said it wasn’t clear cash incentives were needed when Australians were desperate to get an appointment.
“We’ve got really strong signs that the vast majority of Australians intend to come forward to get vaccinated because it’s the right thing to do,’’ he said.
The Prime Minister said there was no comparison with the “no jab, no pay” reforms for childcare that stop payments to parents if children are not vaccinated.
Instead, he said it was to protect children from mingling with unvaccinated kids when they attended childcare.
“I don’t think there is an equivalence between those two. Others have suggested that. As the person who put that in place, I can tell you why we did it. We did it because we didn’t want unvaccinated children mixing with those who were vaccinated for those conditions,’’ he said.
“It wasn’t done necessarily as an incentive, it was done as a protection, as a protection for those children who are entered those childcare facilities. There was a very different task. We already have a very high rate of child immunisation, so I wasn’t seeking to massively increase child immunisation rates.”
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has also slammed Labor’s cash splash plan to hand every Australian who is fully vaccinated a $300 bonus as “an insult”.
“No, we looked at it, and the evidence says it’s unnecessary and unlikely to work,” Senator Birmingham told ABC TV.
“If you look at the different age cohorts, the over 70s, we’re now exceeding 79 per cent of over 70s had their first dose. So, if you look right through all Australians over the age of 16, 41 per cent of all Australians over the age of 16 have turned out for their first dose.
“It’s clearly unnecessary in the sense that Australians are responding. They do want to get their vaccines. It’s a bit insulting to the many millions of Australians who are already doing the right thing, who are planning on doing the right thing, and know full well the reason they could get vaccinated is to protect their health and the health of their fellow Australians.”
The UK and Canada, who have already hit over 80 per cent of the population in terms of first doses - double the rate of Australia’s vaccination rollout have both used targeted incentives.
“But not this type of broad brush scattergun approach. It’s very reminiscent of old Labor approaches to splash cash everywhere and hope for the best,’’ Senator Birmingham said.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has hit the campaign trail to spruk the plan on breakfast television this morning insisting it would have a stimulus effect on the battered economy if people spend the cash in the lead up to Christmas amid fears of another recession.
“They will spend it, creating and supporting jobs in their local communities, supporting economic activity, given that September has seen, of course, because of these lockdowns in the September quarter, it’s likely to be negative. And businesses and workers are really struggling,’’ he said.
“This pandemic has seen all sorts of one-offs. And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve done that. But the truth is, the government had two jobs this year, the rollout of the vaccine and national quarantine,
“We have a lockdown in Queensland again, at the moment, because of a failure of hotel quarantine, we need to get this right. We need to build national quarantine facilities that are purpose built, and we need to roll out the vaccine and get those rates up.”
Mr Albanese’s plan would see every Australian citizen who is fully vaccinated by December 1 secure a $300 cash payment.
“The government has failed on its two jobs this year, the rollout of the vaccine and fixing quarantine,” he told news.com.au.
“It needs to use every measure at its disposal to protect Australians and our economy.”
The last date for a normal house and half-Senate election is 21 May, 2022, so the Prime Minister must call an election before then.
The incentive plan follows national cabinet flagging that unspecified “incentives” will be offered to the vaccinated in Phase B of the rollout when 80 per cent of Australians are vaccinated.
Those incentives could include not subjecting fully vaccinated Australians to the same stay-at-home orders as the unvaccinated or greater freedom to travel interstate.
The government has guaranteed that Australia will have more than enough vaccines to meet the 80 per cent target by December 1 but it’s up to Australians whether or not that many people will be vaccinated by then.
Meanwhile, Australia’s acting chief medical officer Michael Kidd has urged younger Queenslanders to strongly consider getting the AstraZeneca vaccine if they can, noting the outbreak now means the benefits outweigh the rare risk of blood clots.
At a press conference in Canberra, Health Minister Greg Hunt and Professor Kidd said the outbreak in Queensland had “reframed” the expert advice from Australia’s vaccine advisory group ATAGI.
“The benefits of the Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca are greater than the risk of the rare side effects occurring, in all age groups,” Prof Kidd said.
“What we have is 11 local government areas in southeast Queensland which are a Commonwealth hotspot, therefore this meets the definition of a large outbreak.”
On July 24, ATAGI released a statement clarifying the existing advice on the use of AstraZeneca in younger age groups to say it should be taken in consultation with your doctor in response to the NSW outbreak.
“All individuals aged 18 years and above in greater Sydney, including adults under 60 years of age, should strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine including Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca,” the ATAGI advice states.
“This is on the basis of the increasing risk of Covid-19 and ongoing constraints of Comirnaty (Pfizer) supplies. In addition, people in areas where outbreaks are occurring can receive the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine 4 to 8 weeks after the first dose, rather than the usual 12 weeks, to bring forward optimal protection.”
Mr Hunt also urged all Queenslanders to get vaccinated as soon as they were eligible.
“In terms of Queensland, our message is the ATAGI advice has been reframed,” he said.
“If you’re over 60, AstraZeneca is the preferred vaccine. If you’re under 60, it is something, in a hotspot, which Michael has set out, in an outbreak area that people should strongly consider.”
But Prof Kidd’s advice today was in stark contrast to Queensland’s top health official Jeanette Young.
Asked whether it was a “mistake” to say people under 60 should not get the jab as Queensland battles the latest outbreak, she said the expert advice hadn’t changed.
“I remain firm, they need to — as per the ATAGI and the TGA advice, and advice if you look around the world, they need to — if they think they have a particular risk, immediately go and talk to their own doctor,” she said.
“I said I didn’t want 18-year-olds getting AstraZeneca, and I still don’t.”
In NSW, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged Australians to get any vaccine they can — in consultation with their doctor.
“If you’re under 40 and want AstraZeneca, please, please check with your GP. If your GP gives you the green light, please get the vaccine. Please, please, come forward and get vaccinated,” she said.
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