California is trying to introduce vaccine hesitants to the corona vaccine through a lottery.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced a raffle Thursday in which vaccinated people can win up to $ 1.5 million.
Two million Californians who will be vaccinated in the next few weeks, the Democrat also promised shopping vouchers worth 50 dollars each.
In total, the Golden State's attempt to convince vaccine skeptics to use the syringe cost 116 million dollars.
"We provide more money than any other state in America and give the most valuable prizes to everyone who gets vaccinated," said the governor while visiting a vaccination center in East Los Angeles. The city in eastern Los Angeles is one of the southern California regions with the largest proportion of Hispanic residents. According to surveys by the California health authorities, Latinos are the population group with the lowest number of immunizations against the coronavirus, with a vaccination rate of only about 40 percent.
Observers attribute the hesitant vaccination behavior of many “Hispanics” to work commitments, long commutes to vaccination centers, and fear of the possible cost of the vaccine.
Therefore, a few weeks ago California launched the “Get the vaccine out!” Program, in which around 2000 employees of non-profit organizations visit poorer neighborhoods to educate people about vaccinations.
As announced by Governor Newsom, they should also advertise the lottery in the coming weeks.
Aimed at a vaccination rate of at least 70 percent
So far, a good 60 percent of the approximately 34 million Californians aged twelve or older have been vaccinated at least once. With the decline in the number of infections, vaccination fatigue also spread in the Pacific country. In the past few days, the vaccination centers had reported significantly fewer visitors than in the previous weeks. In order to reopen shops, companies and leisure facilities after the lockdown as planned on June 15, Newsom is aiming for a vaccination rate of at least 70 percent.
As the Democrat announced on Thursday, all winners of the ten main prizes of the lottery, each worth $ 1.5 million, will be announced on the day of the reopening. As early as next week, vaccinated Californians will also receive 30 prizes, each worth $ 50,000. With the vaccination lottery, Newsom is following the example of states like Ohio, Maryland, Colorado and New York. Meanwhile, in Oregon, Governor Kate Brown launched the “Take Your Shot” initiative, in which, in addition to cash prizes, scholarships for colleges and universities are raffled off.