Why Vaccine Lotteries Didn’t Move the Needle on Inoculations
Several U.S. states and cities tried to boost Covid-19 vaccinations with a sweepstakes-for-shots approach. A new study suggests that other methods would have been more effective.
California Governor Gavin Newsom juggles numbered balls used in the state’s vaccine lottery in June 2021. Newsom drew 10 winners to receive $1.5 million each in the largest vaccine incentive program in the nation.
Photographer: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
In May 2021, as the U.S. vaccination campaign started to lose momentum, several U.S. states and some cities arrived at the same conclusion: To boost uptake, they’d launch vaccine lotteries, giving locals who’d gotten their shot the chance to win a million or more dollars.
But a new study published in JAMA Health Forum on Friday suggests that, on their own, the lotteries launched for vaccinated residents in 19 states failed to achieve their goals of encouraging people to take the Covid vaccine. It found no significant difference in rates of vaccine uptake in states that launched lotteries compared to those that did not.