Unwilling or hestiant to take the vaccine? Think again, for several shops are offering discounts to those who take the jab in capital Ranchi and possibly, in days to co come, elsewhere in Jharkhand.

On Sunday, the Ranchi district administration tied up with various trade outfits in the capital to announce discounts on purchases made by those wo have taken their Covid-19 vaccine shot in an attempt to bolster immunisation coverage. The health department has decided to double daily vaccinations by setting a target of 2.5 lakh jabs per day in the wake of fresh concerns centred around the spread of the Delta plus variant in a few states.

Deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan released a list of about 26 shops across sectors to announce a range of discounts residensts can avail depending on the status of their vaccination. Those who have taken both doses are eligible to for more discounts than those who have taken just one.

The discounts for single dose recipients start from one per cent and goes up to 30 per cent across various shops. For second dose recipients, the discount window is between 5 per cent and 45 per cent. Some shops, however, are offering gifts in place of discounts. Shops offering discounts covers wide range of sectors, namely, books, electronic appliances, optical stores, parlours/saloons, garments, cosmetics, etc.

Ranjan said, “We are starting it as a joint initiative of the district administration and Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) to encourage people to get vaccinated. It is one of the various measures that the administration is working on to achieve cent per cent coverage against the deadly virus.”

Another district administration official added that more shops will be added to the list of those offering discounts in the coming days. “One can’t force shops to offer discounts as business is badly affected due to the pandemic. But we are persuading more shops to work out packages as part of their social responsibility, he said, adding that discounts could also help shops to boost sales.

On Sunday, Jharkhand reported a spike of less than 100 Covid cases for the second day in a row, while recoveries outnumbered fresh cases of infection, bringing the active caseload in the state down to 1,030, according to the health department. As per a National Health Mission (NHM) bulleting, as many as 81 people were found infected by SARS-CoV-2 on Sunday and 163 Covid-19 patients recovered on the day. Only one Covid casualty was reported (Khunti) taking the Covid toll in the state to 5,111 and that in Khunti to 96.