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The incentives states and cities are offering to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates

30 May 2021
 Dan Ackermann

From $1 million cash prizes to a free dinner with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, states and cities are offering incentives as part of their efforts to boost vaccination rates.

Driving the news: U.S. daily administered doses fell dramatically in late April and May, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

  • About 51.2% of adults in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated, while nearly 62.4% have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

The incentives states and cities are offering:

California:Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that 30 Californians 12 years and older have a chance to win $50,000 if they complete their vaccination.

  • If a minor wins, the cash will be put in a savings account until they turn 18 years old.
  • The state is also offering a chance at winning one of 10 $1.5 million cash prizes.
  • Additionally, the first 2 million people to begin and complete their vaccinations starting May 27 will automatically receive a $50 prepaid or grocery card.

Colorado: Gov. Jared Polis has unveiled the Colorado Comeback Cash Vaccine Drive, a five-week sweepstakes that will award five people $1 million each for getting a vaccine.

Delaware: Delaware residents 18 years and older who get vaccinated between May 25 and June 29 will have a chance to win a variety of cash and other prizes, including vacations and free tolls.

  • Those 12 to 17 years old will have a chance to win a full scholarship to a state university.

Illinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced on May 13 that Six Flags Great America will offer 50,000 free tickets — valued at $4 million — to newly vaccinated Illinois residents.

Maine: The state is offering a variety of rewards, including a certain number fishing and hunting licenses to any resident who gets at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of May.

Maryland: Any Maryland resident 18 years and older who has been vaccinated in the state will be automatically entered in a daily drawing to win a $40,000 prize. The drawings will be held from May 24 to July 4. One person will win $400,000.

Minnesota: Gov. Tim Walz announced last week that the first 100,000 people who get a vaccine between Memorial Day weekend and the end of June will be eligible for several rewards, including a free state parks pass or fishing license.

New Jersey: The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection started offering a free state parks pass on May 27.

  • People age 18 or older can also enter a drawing to win a free dinner with Gov. Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy.

New York: Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that anyone who received a vaccine at a state vaccination site between May 24 and May 28 had a chance to win $5 million or other smaller monetary prizes.

  • Cuomo also announced that the state would raffle off 50 four-year scholarships to any public college or university in the state for people between 12 and 17 years old who receive the vaccine.
  • New York City: Big Apple dwellers can choose from an array of incentives for getting a vaccine, including free tickets to Liberty Island, a free Public Theater annual membership or a $25 gift card to NYC Public Markets.

Ohio: As part of the state's Vax-a-Million campaign, five people 18 years or older will win $1 million each, while five 12- to 17-year-olds will each win a four-year scholarship to public college or university in the state.

  • The state announced its first winners on May 27.
  • Ohio said vaccinations in the state increased 94% among 16- and 17- year-olds, 46% among 18- and 19-year-olds and 55% among those between 20 and 49 years old after Gov. Mike DeWine announced the lotteries.
  • As of May 24, more than 2.7 million adults had registered for the $1 million drawings and 104,386 minors had registered for the scholarship raffles.

Oregon: Residents 18 and older in Oregon will have the chance to win $1 million or one of 36 $10,000 prizes if they receive at least one dose of the vaccine by the drawing date.

  • The state is also offering those 12 to 17 years old a chance to win one of five $100,000 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarships.

West Virginia: People aged 16 to 35 who get vaccinated in West Virginia can receive an $100 savings bond, Gov. Jim Justice announced in April.

The big picture: Andy Slavitt, the White House senior advisor for COVID-19 response, said he supported vaccine incentives during a press briefing on May 25.

Go deeper:Employers dangle rewards for vaccination despite legal hurdles

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.