On the heels of Ohio governor Mike DeWine announcing the state will hold lotteries for vaccinated adults to have the chance to win $1 million, the state of California is following a similar path toward encouraging vaccination.
Gov. Gavin Newsom made the announcement on Thursday as his state gears up for a June reopening. “We’re putting aside more resources than any other state in America, and we’re making available the largest prizes of any state in America for those that seek to get vaccinated,” Newsom said while at a vaccination hub at an East Los Angeles high school. While more than 20 million Californians are either fully or partially vaccinated, Newsom hopes the new lotteries will encourage the roughly 12 million unvaccinated to take the shot. Per the Associated Press:
“The state will give $50 gift cards either for general use or for specific grocery stores to the next 2 million people who get shots […] Newsom defended the spending as smart policy aimed at ensuring more than 70% of eligible people are inoculated before the state fully reopens businesses and relaxes social distancing and masking rules on June 15. On that day, a drawing will be held to award 10 vaccinated people the top prize. Another 30 people will win $50,000 each, with those drawings starting June 4. Anyone 12 and older who has received at least one shot will be eligible. The state will use its immunization database to automatically enter people into the drawings, though it’s still exploring how to include those vaccinated at federal facilities, such as veterans hospitals.”