Ohio Battles Vaccine Hesitancy With $1 Million and Full Scholarships

On Wednesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine introduced a lottery system in hopes of defeating the vaccine hesitancy that has been adamant across the U.S. Various governors, health officials, and community leaders have been coming up with creative incentives, like insider access to NFL locker rooms and cash incentives, to inoculate more people during the ongoing rollout.

Starting May 26, adults may enter a lottery that will provide a $1 million prize each Wednesday for five weeks. However, only those who have received at least one vaccine dose will be allowed to join.

For vaccinated Ohioans under 18, the state will conduct random drawings to provide five full four-year scholarships to an Ohio public university. This will include tuition, room and board, and books.

DeWine said that the lottery prizes and scholarships will come from existing federal pandemic relief dollars. The drawings will be conducted by the Ohio Lottery.

“Using millions of dollars in relief funds in a drawing is a grave misuse of money that could be going to respond to this ongoing crisis,” said State Rep. Emilia Sykes as she questioned the use of the federal funds.

“I know that some may say, ‘DeWine, you’re crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money,” acknowledged DeWine. However, the real waste “is a life lost to COVID-19” especially with a vaccine readily available, he added.

DeWine also expressed that all Ohioans aged 12 and above should receive a vaccine since it is a “tested and proven weapon.”

“It’s time to end the health orders. It’s been a year. You’ve followed the protocols,” said DeWine. “You’ve done what we’ve asked. You’ve bravely fought this virus.”

People seeking vaccines have seen a significant drop in the past weeks. Last week, there was only an average of about 16,500 starting the process from the above 80,000 that was reported in April.

As of Tuesday, over 4.2 million Ohioans, or about 36% of the population, had already completed the vaccination process. Around 42% of Ohioans have received at least one dose.

“There comes a time when individual responsibility simply must take over,” said DeWine.

Source: Bloomberg