Food delivery firms and taxi-hailing companies are offering discounts for customers as part of a campaign to boost Covid-19 vaccine uptake among young people.
Uber, Bolt, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims are among the household names which have signed up for the incentives scheme.
Uber, which has previously offered free trips to vaccination centres for NHS staff, said it would be offering discounted rides and meals on its Uber Eats platform.
The company will also use its app to send out reminders urging customers to get the vaccination.
Rival ride-hailing firm Bolt is relaunching a scheme featuring ‘free ride credit’ to take people to vaccination centres.
Deliveroo will give discount vouchers to young people who get the vaccination.
A spokesman said: ‘At Deliveroo we want to do our small part to support the NHS during the pandemic, including delivering a million free meals to frontline NHS staff and vaccine centres.
‘This is the next step in helping people get vaccinated and safely back to normal.’
Health secretary Sajid Javid urged people to ‘take advantage of the discounts’.
He said: ‘I’m delighted that more than two thirds of young people in England have already had a first dose of a vaccine, helping to build a wall of defence around our country.
‘Thank you to all the businesses who are stepping up to support this important vaccine drive. Once available, please go out and take advantage of the discounts.
‘The lifesaving vaccines not only protect you, your loved ones and your community, but they are helping to bring us back together by allowing you to get back to doing the things you’ve missed.’
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said there was ‘strong enthusiasm’ among young people to get vaccinated.
He added: ‘Please get your jabs as soon as you can and grab a bargain.’
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the companies taking part in the incentive schemes would not ask for or hold any patient health data.
The news comes as research from healthcare app myGP, released last week, showed that almost one in five under-25s did not intend to have the Covid vaccine.
This comes as Public Health England (PHE) published data showing that people in their 20s now have the highest rate of infection of any age group since mass testing began at the start of the pandemic, with nearly 1,155 cases per 100,000 people.
READERS' COMMENTS [3]
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Survive covid today, succumb to diabetes tomorrow. Epic.
This is a bit weird. Coercion? Sounds all a bit, well, dirty.
Neither Uber nor Deliveroo make any money. Both are throwing away vast sums of investors cash in the hope one day they will eventually break even – I don’t know about the other companies mentioned because I’ve never heard of them but my bet it they are similarly puffed up and nonsensical ‘maybe one day we’ll make money’ businesses. And here they are entering the vaccination scene – because ..well because it apparently looks good??. Such is the Alice in wonderland world we inhabit. Why are loss making taxi and pizza companies funding vaccination promotion? Well they’ve got so much investor cash they really don’t know what to do with it. Why have some investors got so much money to throw away investing in these lunatic companies?.. quantitative easing. Masses and masses of fake money given out to people in finance by central backs who simply recycled it back into buying shares, puffing up their values to ludicrous levels ..companies like Uber and Delivero..who make no money. Who now fund vaccination. Weird weird world indeed