California wants to lure citizens who want to be vaccinated with dollars - lots of dollars.
With financial incentives of over 116 million dollars (about 95 million euros), the state on the Pacific coast wants to encourage its citizens to get corona vaccinations and reward those who have already been vaccinated.
The "Vax for the Win" program announced on Thursday is the largest financial vaccination incentive initiative in the US, said California Governor Gavin Newsom.
In a lottery, ten fully vaccinated participants will each receive $ 1.5 million.
The winners will be announced on June 15th.
Anyone who has been vaccinated for a long time will automatically be entered into the raffle.
In mid-June, the west coast state wants to lift most of the corona restrictions and open the economy completely.
Two million $ 50 shopping vouchers
Another 30 participants can receive $ 50,000 each.
The state also wants to give two million citizens who will be vaccinated in the coming weeks a $ 50 shopping voucher as an incentive.
Previously, several states, including Ohio, Maryland and New York, had launched similar lottery programs or other incentives, albeit with a smaller pot of money.
Overall, the US has made great strides in vaccination in recent months, but the pace of the campaign has recently slowed.
With around 40 million inhabitants, California is the most populous US state; as a sovereign state, California would be the fifth largest economy in the world.
Citizens from the age of 12 can get vaccinated against the coronavirus there.
To date, more than 37 million vaccinations have been given.
Around 63 percent of those eligible to vaccinate in California have received at least one dose.