Public Health

Lottery jackpots aren’t enough to boost vaccination rates, one study finds

California Governor Gavin Newsom drew 10 winners in Universal City, California, June 15, 2021 in the final $ 116.5 million cash prize drawing of California’s Vax Incentive Program for the Win Vaccine Incentive Program .

Jay L. Clendenin | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

The lottery slogan “You have to be there to win” took on a whole new meaning this spring as certain states began offering large cash draws to residents who received a Covid-19 vaccine.

But a new study finds that a lot of people just didn’t play.

The study, published in the JAMA Health Forum, looked at 19 states that announced cash lotteries linked to Covid-19 vaccines and compared their vaccination trends with states that did not offer these incentives.

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“There was no statistically significant association between a cash withdrawal announcement and the number of vaccinations before or after the announcement date,” the study said.

That was also considered as the winners of the lotteries were announced.

According to the researchers, there could be several reasons why the lotteries stopped encouraging more people to get vaccinated.

Lottery-style draws can attract fewer people to action compared to guaranteed cash offers.

In addition, the lottery promotions may not have provided sufficient information about the vaccines. More complete messages about vaccinations may have been more effective, according to research.

The campaigns may also not have been effective on people prone to vaccine misinformation.

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