Bini Dahal

While developing nations have been scrambling to find a COVID-19 vaccine for their citizens, the developed ones seem to be applying every possible means to ensure a rise in the number of vaccinated population. The 'Joint for Jabs' is a very popular campaign that is now making trends in the US. 'Joint' here refers to marijuana, a well-known psychoactive drug around the world.
In many states in the USA, bills have been passed, giving the citizens a freedom to use marijuana. The Washington State is one of them. In that state, marijuana law allows patients and adults aging 21 years and the older ones to possess and administer weed for both medical and recreational purposes.
By enforcing this law, the state government of Washington is creating a lucrative proposition for people in the state. It calls on the citizens to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic in return for one pre-rolled marijuana joint. As per the CNN, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has allowed licensed cannabis retailers to provide such a novel service at an in-store vaccination clinic.
The offer, which is scheduled to end on July 12, will be eligible only for adults above 21 years. Besides, there are also different other campaigns running in different states. They include free beer, wine, cocktails, free doughnuts and baseball game tickets. This sort of incentive seems to be working on many people. Hopefully, such innovative campaigns will be helpful for the US government to meet its target to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the population.
In the context of Nepal, we are too far away from bringing any lucrative schemes or promotion as of now. Any promotion that we truly need to do will be for meeting the high vaccination demand that exists in the country. The elderly people in the country, who got the first dose of the vaccine three or four months ago, have just begun receiving the second dose. It should have been administered within a month of the first one. This time lag puts a big question on its effectiveness, though no doubt it may provide an excellent immunity as stated.
Currently, Nepal is going through the second wave of the pandemic. And health experts have predicted that the nation might face a crisis brought about by the third wave of the virus disease soon. The government seems to be working hard to manage vaccines for everyone. But it is not an easy process. The developed nations who contributed to vaccine research are obviously according the first priority to their own citizens. Anyway, the government will put extra efforts in ensuring vaccine availability to the general public more than giving special attention to political matters. The more time we waste, the more lives will be in the hands of this deadly pandemic.
This pandemic has put greater pressure on our health system and bureaucracy. It seems that our politics has dominated everything. Even very important issues like strengthening our healthcare system has remained in the shadow of politics. The healthcare system and the national economy are in tatters. Our dependence on international community has always been high. We now should focus on preparing for everything on our own. We need a stronger and more committed leadership to bring about the much-needed changes in the country.