Incentivizing the vaccine-hesitant in America has reached the fast food industry. Burger chain McDonald’s has announced it is partnering with the White House to promote vaccination information on its coffee cups.
Starting in July, US customers will see redesigned McCafé cups and delivery-box seal stickers featuring an upbeat message of “We Can Do This” – a slogan created by the US health department.
McDonald’s also said it will unveil a billboard in New York’s Times Square this month displaying vaccine information.
Xavier Becerra, the health secretary, said in a statement that the public-private partnership “will help more people make informed decisions about their health and learn about steps they can take to protect themselves and their communities”.
The campaign joins a range of consumer-focused incentives unveiled in recent days, including a micro-brewery in Buffalo, New York, offering beer to patrons who accept a vaccine shot. Vaccination rates across the US have slowed as officials encounter vaccine-hesitant segments of the population.
There is now an increasingly fervent public- and private-sector effort to meet drops in vaccine demand head-on. Unilever added free ice cream, including popsicles and Klondike shakes, to health workers and people getting vaccinated at several vaccination sites.
According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 47% of people who said they want to “wait and see” before being vaccinated also said paid time off to get it would make them more likely to get the shot. Thirty nine percent said a financial incentive of $200 from their employer would work.
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