[LINK] Text All Australians to Get Vaccinated for Prizes

[Tom Worthington]

Given the expanding COVID-19 outbreaks, I suggest the Australian 
Government use its emergency powers* to send a text message to all 
mobile phones in Australia. This should ask adults to get vaccinated 
with AstraZeneca ASAP, to free up other vaccines for pregnant women, and 
other priority groups.

An incentive could be offered, such as a $1M lottery per week, and $1M 
for anyone hospitalized due to side effects.

The use of smartphones and incentives for vaccinations is not a new 
idea, with an extensive body of research. Here is a paper from 2019:

	"Smartphone app uses loyalty point incentives and push notifications to 
encourage influenza vaccine uptake": 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.04.018

* Working at DoD on a potential Y2K disaster, I found I simply had to 
have the Minister sign a letter to telcos, and we could requisition any, 
or all, of the Australian telecommunications network.


-- 
Tom Worthington https://blog.highereducationwhisperer.com/