October 16 is being billed as Super Saturday in New Zealand, where the government is urging any eligible unvaccinated New Zealander to get their shot.
But a few lucky people will be able to get their vaccine on board an Air New Zealand 787 aircraft at Auckland Airport.
The people who are able to sign up for the “Jabaseat” opportunity won’t just get their first round of the Pfizer vaccine. They will also get a tour of Air New Zealand’s hangar, complimentary snacks and drinks served by Air New Zealand crew members and a commemorative boarding pass.
According to a statement released by the airline, the once-of-a-kind offering is open to anyone in the Auckland area who is eligible for a vaccine, hasn’t gotten one already and is able to sign up through the national Air New Zealand portal. Once they have registered for their jab, they will see “Air New Zealand Jabaseat” listed as a potential clinic.
There’s zero charge for the vaccine or the experience, although customers able to book the “Jabaseat” will be responsible for getting to and from the airport themselves.
“Everyone across the motu (islands) has a role to play to protect Aotearoa/New Zealand against COVID-19 by getting vaccinated, and we’re calling for a massive collective effort to make this happen,” Tamati Sheppard-Wipiiti, Group Manager of Equity for the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccine and Immunization Program, said in a press statement.
New Zealand isn’t the only destination offering Covid vaccines in unusual places as a way to motivate more people to sign up.
In New York City, some people were able to get their shots underneath the famous blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History, while in Sweden some lucky Stockholmers signed up to get vaccinated in the Nobel Prize Banquet Hall.
Thanks to early and swift border closures and strict lockdowns, New Zealand had only 4,760 diagnosed cases of the coronavirus and 28 deaths, some of the lowest figures in the world.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, about 50% of eligible citizens have been fully vaccinated as of October 14.
However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has stated that the country is ready to move away from its “zero-Covid” strategy into a life of living with the disease. Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Singapore and Australia, have made similar moves in recent months. Vaccination – and reaching herd immunity – will be a critical step in that process.
