Pizza, ice cream and coffee. Free treats are on offer to entice people from Russia to the U.S. to get their COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Governments are pinning their hopes on inoculation campaigns to return to normalcy and end the pandemic that has infected some 110 million people worldwide and killed over 2.42 million to date. And in some places, the jabs are being dispensed with freebies.

Tel Aviv residents who turned up at two pop-up vaccination sites on Tuesday were treated to complimentary pizza, hummus, and pastry. Coffee was also on the menu.

The municipality cooperated with local businesses to provide the fare free of charge and spokesperson Eytan Schwartz said the city hoped the move would create a "family-like atmosphere" to attract inoculation holdouts.

Israel has vaccinated more people per capita than any other country, expanding this month its push to include anyone over the age of 16. But there is concern that the younger population, who is less prone to the dangerous coronavirus complications, as well as other groups, like the Arab minority or the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, will not be up for getting inoculated.

Last week, the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, offered free servings of cholent, a slow-cooked stew of beef and beans, to residents who showed up for a COVID-19 shot. Members of the highly conservative community have notoriously flouted coronavirus curbs and social distancing rules and clashed with police over lockdown violations. A municipal spokesperson said the free food attracted three times the typical number of recipients, according to the Associated Press.

Israel is slowly relaxing lockdown measures and restrictions and planning to introduce a special system whereby only holders of "green passports" – those who received two vaccine doses or have recovered from COVID-19 – are allowed to access hotels, houses of worship, shopping venues, and eventually sporting and cultural events when they're held.

"Will you be eligible to enter gyms and cultural events, or will you be left behind?" tweeted the Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein on Sunday. "Go get vaccinated!"

In Moscow, one vaccination station inside a shopping mall has turned to ice cream to lure more people to get their dose of the Sputnik V injection.

"It makes [for] a nice bonus after getting the vaccination," Natalya Kuzentova, the head doctor of the vaccination site, told Bloomberg earlier this month. She said about 300 people come in for the jab every day.

The Russian government rolled out the domestically developed vaccine last December, first targeting at-risk populations like medical workers before making it eligible for other groups. Around mid-January, President Vladimir Putin said the country, which has recorded over 4 million cases, needs to move "from large-scale to mass vaccination."

Meanwhile in the United Arab Emirates, a range of perks from restaurant deals to free cups of java are up for grabs for vaccinated residents thanks to initiatives by private businesses, the Khaleej Times newspaper has reported. Uber users can also enjoy discounts on rides to and from vaccination centers.

The Gulf nation has kept the momentum going for its vaccination drive, having administered more than five million doses so far at a rate of 51.43 doses per 100 people, according to Feb. 15 statistics from the website Our World in Data.

Much attention is being paid to vaccine incentives by employers to their staff in the United States amid worries that they could be legally problematic.

Companies like McDonald's, Starbucks, Target and Trader Joe's are encouraging their workers to get vaccinated, stopping short of mandating it but sweetening the deal with one-time bonuses, extra pay and free cab rides. But question marks have been raised over how far these enticements could go before starting to feel coercive and whether they infringe on the right to medical privacy.

With a global vaccination race underway, hesitation, skepticism and downright apathy persist, especially amid dubious information about the coronavirus and concerns about the rapid development and approval of available vaccines.

Health experts have come out to ally fears and a string of public figures, from Singaporean Minister Prime Lee Hsien Loong to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, have rolled up their shirtsleeves before cameras in an attempt to increase public confidence in the safety of the jabs. 

And when all else fails, sweets seem to do the trick.

"I came today to get vaccinated and I tell everyone to come and get the shot so that we can keep our health better," Iman Dasui, a 60-year-old teacher told Reuters at a Tel Aviv vaccination station on Tuesday.

"There is also knafeh here... very tasty," she said in reference to the Middle Eastern dessert made with shredded filo pastry.

(With input from Reuters)