In the US, the vaccination campaign is advancing, but at a slower pace than in recent months, so many governors have thought of encouraging citizens in original ways to get vaccinated offering from time to time gifts of various kinds, especially cash prizes.
The first extracts
One of the gimmicks that seems most appropriate is the lottery call «Vax-a-Milion» which in Ohio delivers well $ 1 million to the vaccinated winner. The first winners have just been drawn: it is Abbigail Bugenske, from a suburb of Cincinnati, while a boy, Joseph Costello, from the Dayton area, won the first university scholarship offered with the same incentive program by Governor Mike Dewine (seen to the left of the award-winning boy, in the center, in the photo that the same governor posted on his social profile). More than 2.7 million people have signed up online to win the $ 1 million award, and over 100,000 young people living in the state have signed up for the coveted four-year scholarship offered to one of Ohio’s state universities. Every week there will be a payout, every Wednesday, for the next four weeks. In all there are five $ 1 million prizes and for vaccinated children between the ages of 12 and 17 five scholarships (the vaccination of the children was authorized in the US in mid-May), with a prize that includes tuition, food, accommodation and books.
Excellent feedback
The results of the original campaign look astounding: the governor’s office has let it be known that the vaccinations in Ohio have increased (compared to the previous week) 94% between 16 and 17 years, 46% between 18 and 19 years and 55% between 20 and 49 years. The initiative appears to be working so well that similar projects have been adopted in New York, Maryland, Oregon and Colorado.
In the US, half the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, but President Joe Biden has fixed it the target of 70% of Americans with at least one dose of the vaccine by July 4th. It is normal that once the groups most at risk are vaccinated, there is a stalemate in the vaccination campaign: it is not about anti-vax (not only), but more often about people who are not in a hurry or are not informed or do not have the necessary push, especially if they are young. Governor Mike Dewine has decided to focus on this slice of the population and it seems he was right. The initiative has not only received praise: some have criticized the spending of public money. The reply was a calculation on saving in terms of human lives, but also a more concrete one on saving money in terms of healthcare costs and working productivity.
The same lottery generated in free vaccination advertising what would have cost more than $ 23 million and, according to an estimate by the State of Ohio, preventing even just 40 serious cases of Covid requiring hospitalization would already pay for the entire program. of prizes.
May 28, 2021 (change May 28, 2021 | 12:41)
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