Ohio closes Covid-19 vaccine lottery after failing to surpass 50% threshold
Ohio is the latest state to report difficulties in increasing vaccination rates via a lottery scheme to encourage locals.
And the state’s vaccine lottery will subsequently come to an end on Wednesday, as figures show it was unable to surpass 50% in vaccination rates.
When Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, announced the incentive in May, vaccination rates went up by 43% in just a week.
However, the Governor had to accept the “impact went down after that second week,” as the program lost momentum.
Ohio is not the only state finding big prizes are not encouraging enough numbers from the public to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
Recently, North Carolina said its $1m lottery had improved the tally of vaccines by just 1%; one week of the lottery had indeed increased the number of vaccinated North Carolinians from 54% to 55%.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said: “We’re hoping over the next few days and few weeks we will see some significant improvement in our numbers.
“We’re trying to find everything we can, even keeping steady would be a positive thing.”
Similarly, states across the country have reported initial boosts in vaccination rates but an eventual decline as the program continues.
Despite the success of the lottery being short-lived, Governor DeWine still sees some positives; he said it did help get some sceptics vaccinated.
The Governor has urged people in Ohio to take the vaccine, with the state confirming the end of social distancing and a return to in-person school classes is scheduled for Autumn.
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