In the United States, a lottery for the vaccinated with a million dollars at stake

 Eva Deschamps / May 13, 2021

In a country that no longer knows what to invent to push its population to get vaccinated, the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio announced on Wednesday the creation of a lottery with 1 million dollars at stake for people who received an injection.

To be eligible to win the prize pool, participants must be over 18, live in Ohio, and have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine.

I know some people may say, DeWine, you're crazy! Your million dollar raffle idea is a waste of money. But the real waste at this stage of the pandemic - when the vaccine is available to everyone who wants it - is a death from Covid-19, said Mike DeWine, Republican governor of the northern U.S. state.

The first winner will be announced on May 26. After that, a new winner will be drawn every Wednesday for five weeks with the same amount of money each time, DeWine said. The money will come from existing federal funds set up to address the pandemic.

At the same time, a similar lottery for those under 17 years of age who are vaccinated will receive a full four-year scholarship to one of Ohio's state universities, a valuable win in a country where higher education is expensive.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday extended approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to adolescents aged 12 to 15. In the United States, where the daily number of doses administered is now decreasing, incentives are multiplying to convince the undecided. Whether it's a beer, doughnuts or tickets to sporting events, anything is possible to get Americans to get vaccinated.

In early May, Maryland announced that state employees would receive $100 if they were vaccinated. In West Virginia, the same amount is being offered as a savings bonus to 16-35 year olds, an age group more reluctant to be vaccinated. About 58.7% of U.S. adults have received at least one shot.