Our largest telco is the latest major company getting in on the act to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations, and the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is holding up despite the controversy from its campaign.
The Telstra share price inched up 0.1% to $3.86 in after lunch trade. That may not be much of a move, but it's a positive sign as the S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3%.
Investors are unperturbed by the backlash from some of Telstra's customers to its "LetsVaxx" campaign, reported News.com.au.
Telstra share price inches up as vaccination campaign draws heat
The telco is offering fully vaccinated customers bonus Telstra Plus Points and it has put "#LetsVaxx" on every customers mobile phone.
However, some customers have reacted angrily to the message. They either believe its an invasion of their privacy and/or do not believe in getting vaccinated.
"Hey Telstra stick your #letsvaxx hashtag that you've stuck at the top of my device fair up ya clacker," one customer wrote, according to News.com.au.
Some are even threatening to terminate their Telstra service unless the company removed the hashtag.
Telstra standing firm
But that isn't likely to happen. For one, it appears most people support Telstra's move as several have applauded the company for encouraging people to get the jab.
Our political leaders believe vaccination are the only way for life to return to any kind of normality.
Telstra has also stood by its campaign. It said it respected everyone's right to choose whether to get vaccinated and pointed out that all Telstra Plus customers will be eligible for bonuses regardless of their vaccination status.
The bonuses include free movie, food delivery discounts, and discounts on items in its rewards store.
Paying employees to get the jab
What's more, Telstra has hired satirist Mark Humphries for a social media campaign to bust common COVID myths.
"Mark's sharp satire successfully busted conspiracy theories around 5G and now we're calling on him to help cut through the noise and debunk Covid-19 vaccination myths," News.com.au reported Telstra's chief executive Andy Penn as saying.
The company is also offering employees $200 to get the shots and more than 5,500 of them have taken up the offer.
Other ASX 200 shares backing COVID vaccinations
But Telstra isn't the only one on the ASX 200 share benchmark to encourage vaccinations. Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) is offering to reward its customers who are fully vaccinated and requires all customer facing staff to be immunised.
Others jumping in on the act include the Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price, National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price and Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) share price.
