New Zealand’s government is employing a host of increasingly weird and wonderful strategies, gimmicks and sweeteners in a bid to get the last 20% of its eligible population inoculated against Covid-19.
As its daily Covid case numbers rise and large parts of the country are locked down, the government is in a race against time, trying to push vaccination rates high enough to interrupt the spread of the virus and prevent a large-scale outbreak.
The national airline, Air New Zealand, announced this week it would be converting a 787 Dreamliner into a novel vaccination clinic, complete with the traditional snack service and option of in-flight entertainment during the 30-minute post-vaccine observation period.