With vaccination rates still flagging, the government is set to raise the game by offering a financial incentive to Ukrainians to get them vaccinated.

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky  said in a video address Monday the government is coming up with new ‘instruments’ that will help ‘ Covid-affected businesses and people to breathe easier’.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky,  people who get 2 doses of Covid vaccine, will be offered 1000 hryvnas they will be able to  spend on sports, recreational activities and cover public transport expanses, which is set to benefit businesses in the sectors of the economy that have been hardest-hit by the pandemic.

The campaign that got 3 billion hryvnas in state funding  projects to reach out to 6 million Ukrainians starting on December 19.

The funds will come through state-run ‘Diya’ app, and can be spent on sport gym and fitness memberships, going to the movies, theatres, museums, concert halls or exhibitions, or ‘air or train tickets for domestic travel’, explained the president, failing to clarify how the money will be paid and handled.

Zelensky admitted the effort can suffer some issues as ‘not all [of Ukrainians] have mobile phones and mobile application ‘Diya’, adding that the government will look for ‘alternative opportunities’ to make the incentive work for pensioners who are still not so tech savvy.

The country is grappling with the worst pandemic wave with daily numbers now reegularly exceeding 20,000 infections and 700 deaths.