Hong Kong: Property tycoons in Hong Kong have come up with an innovative idea to tackle Covid vaccine hesitancy among local residents.
The property developers announced on Friday a lucky draw for those taking the jab wherein the grand prize is a one-bedroom apartment worth HK$10.8 million (US$1.4 million).
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Besides the flat, the people participating in the lucky draw stand to win 20 other prizes worth HK$100,000 each.
According to a report by Channel News Asia, the Hong Kong property tycoons donated the brand new flat worth HK$10.8 million to a vaccine lottery.
This initiative came as Hong Kong, despite having enough doses to inoculate all 7.5 million citizens, is seeing a serious vaccine hesitancy because of rampant distrust against the government and a lack of urgency among locals who feel the city is relatively more virus-free.
All Hong Kong residents aged 18 and above who have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible to register for the lucky draw until Sep 1, Sino Group, Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, and Chinese Estates Holdings said.
"We hope to increase Hong Kong's vaccination rate through the lucky draw," Daryl Ng, the director of the foundation said in a statement.
Only permanent residents have been made eligible for the top prize of an apartment.
Further details would be released at a later point, the group informed.
Before Hong Kong, vaccine lotteries were seen becoming popular in the United States, with California, Colorado, Ohio, New York, and Oregon offering a chance to win costly prizes.
Meanwhile, as per the report, less than 20 percent of Hong Kong's population has received the first vaccine dose and only about 14 percent has received two doses.
Earlier this week, the Hong Kong Airport Authority said that it would give away 60,000 free flights by the end of September to those taking the jab.