What Do You Want for a Needle in the Arm? －腕に針を刺す代わりに、何が欲しい？－

I am scheduled to get my first coronavirus vaccine next week. 

I warned one of my students, who had booked a lesson for the day after, that there was a small chance that I would feel unwell and have to cancel the lesson. 

My student sounded concerned.  “Teacher, I wouldn’t take the vaccine yet.  I am going to wait until more people have had it before deciding whether or not to take it.” 

Listening to the news this morning, I heard that Pfizer is projected to make a profit of 26 billion Dollars this year from selling their vaccine.  The report said that they have already delivered hundreds of millions of doses.  If hundreds of millions of people have taken it before me, that’s a big enough number to give me confidence! 

But some people need more incentive to take the vaccine.  Different countries and regions have been offering special prizes to encourage people to get jabbed.  This has been an especially popular method in America.  Here are some examples: 

The state of New Jersey offered a free beer for those who got vaccinated.  A needle in the arm for a beer belly? 

The US government partnered with online dating apps to allow vaccinated people to get premium access to dating sites.  A needle in the arm for a broken heart? 

And New York offered 20 Dollars worth of lottery scratch cards to those who got jabbed.  A needle in the arm for a gambling addiction? 

Some of these incentives don’t sound very healthy.  I hope before next week, Japan starts offering healthier incentives to get vaccinated.  A needle in the arm for sushi?  A needle in the arm for karaoke?

 

Vocabulary:

an incentive to do something – a thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something

to get jabbed – (casual) to receive an injection

a beer belly – to be fat from drinking too much beer