Cattle for raffle gets town in moood for vaccines

A district of northern Thailand has launched a raffle campaign for inoculated residents to win a live cow per week for the rest of the year, in a bid to boost the local COVID-19 vaccination drive. From June 7, one lucky vaccinated villager in the Mae Chaem district of Chiang Mai province will be randomly chosen every week to win a young cow worth around 10,000 baht (¥35,000). The campaign, set to run for 24 weeks, has been met with enthusiasm in the town of 43,000 since it was announced in mid-May. “Our vaccine registration numbers have gone from hundreds to thousands in a couple of days,” district chief Boonlue Thamtharanurak said. “The villagers love cows. Cows can be sold for cash.” More than 4,000 people in priority groups, including those over 60 years old and those with preexisting conditions, have already registered for their shots, Boonlue said. The town’s vaccination drive is in line with the government’s mass vaccination rollout. Thailand began vaccinating high-priority people in March. (Reuters) This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.