Statewide Iowa — While some Iowans who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 can win up to 50 thousand dollars in weekly drawings, a new study finds the statewide vaccine lottery in Ohio has not increased that state’s vaccination rates.
Allan Walkey a professor of medicine at Boston University, says findings show health officials could have better results using lottery prize money to instead target vaccine-hesitant groups.
Walkey says lotteries don’t address many people’s deep concerns about the coronavirus vaccine.
Governor Kim Reynolds has declined to create a statewide lottery in Iowa, but some Iowa counties like Polk County created their own. Officials there say the goal is to increase the vaccination rate to 75-percent of eligible residents by August 22nd. Polk County’s current rate is at 63-percent.
