Hoping to entice Canadians to get the COVID-19 shot and push the country towards ‘herd immunity’
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Manulife Financial Corp. is trying to entice Canadians to get a COVID-19 vaccine — and push the country towards “herd immunity” — by offering rewards points to about a million life, health and group insurance clients if they get the shot.
Proof of a vaccination is worth 400 points for clients with access to Maulife’s Vitality program, which was launched before the pandemic to encourage healthy behaviour among clients in the hope that they would make fewer insurance claims as a result.
Actuarial data was used to select the rewards scheme for COVID-19 vaccinations based on expected health outcomes, said Mike Doughty, chief executive of Manulife Canada.
Doughty said the company views vaccination against COVID-19 the same way it views other choices that promote health, with added public health and economic benefits.
“Individually, (it will) help them not get sick, help them not die,” he said, adding that getting vaccinated was “also good for everyone around them” because countries that are vaccinating widely are, as expected, seeing reductions in the number of cases and community spread of the respiratory disease.
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Each additional vaccinated person represents “an opportunity to get to herd immunity faster,” Doughty said.
The rewards points offered with proof of COVID-19 inoculation are equivalent to 40 light workouts or two regular dental checkups under Manulife’s existing program, and points can be exchanged for perks such as gift cards or discounts on fitness trackers, health club memberships and hotel stays, he said. If certain points levels are reached, insurance premiums can be reduced.
Doughty said he hopes Manulife’s national platform can be used to help counter “vaccine hesitancy,” a term that refers to those who are reluctant to get the vaccine even though they are eligible.
Recent reports questioning whether blood clots and bleeding issues are linked to the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine led some countries in Europe to pause its use, then resume after health regulators weighed in. Norway, Sweden and Denmark are withholding AstraZeneca shots while they continue to investigate.
Canada’s vaccine rollout has been slower than other G7 countries, leaving many people eager to get the shots despite some signs of vaccine hesitancy.
According to federal government statistics, more than four million doses of the vaccine have been given in Canada since the rollout began in December. That translates to around seven per cent of the population receiving at least a single dose of the two-dose vaccines currently approved and available in the country.
The rollout began in long-term care and retirement homes, as well as in hospitals, and is being expanded as supplies arrive to cover other health-care and essential workers and older Canadians.
The United States has been much faster in vaccinating its citizens, with almost a quarter of the population receiving at least one shot by Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Covid Data Tracker.
Financial Post
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