WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. states of New York and Maryland kicked off their own versions of COVID-19 vaccination lottery to reverse the slumping trend of inoculation, while the pioneer state Ohio has achieved a 28 percent increase of vaccine shots since its program started last week.
DRAMATIC HIKE
Coronavirus vaccinations among the people aged 16 years and older in Ohio had been down 25 percent in the period of May 7 to 10, compared to the previous weekend. After Governor Mike DeWine announced the lottery on May 12, vaccination rates increased 28 percent in the period of May 14 to 17, the state Department of Health was quoted by The Hill as saying on Thursday.
Residents who have been vaccinated will be eligible for five lottery drawings of 1 million U.S. dollars each.
"This dramatic increase in vaccinations indicates that the Vax-a-Million drawing has been impactful in creating momentum for vaccinations throughout Ohio," Stephanie McCloud, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said in a statement. "We are grateful that the drawings are helping spur Ohioans to take this important measure to protect their health, their loved ones, and their community."
"I know that some may say, 'DeWine, you're crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money.' But truly, the real waste at this point in the pandemic -- when the vaccine is readily available to anyone who wants it -- is a life lost to COVID-19," DeWine wrote on Twitter earlier this month when announcing the program.
VAX AND SCRATCH
New Yorkers can get a free lottery ticket if they get vaccinated next week, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday, adding that the pace of vaccinations has slowed: New York has recorded an average of 123,806 daily shots in arms over the past 14 days, down 43 percent from 216,040 as of April 12.
"If you were undecided or dubious about getting a vaccine, now you have an added bonus. Don't miss this chance," Cuomo said.
As part of the "Vax and Scratch" pilot program, if someone gets vaccinated at one of the state's 10 mass vaccination sites between May 24 and 28, they'll receive a scratch-off ticket for the 5-million-dollar Mega Multiplier Lottery.
A ticket normally costs 20 U.S. dollars. The top prize is 5 million dollars, but anyone who has a ticket has a one-in-nine chance of winning something.
GRAND PRIZE
With vaccine demand dropping, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is launching a 2-million-dollar lottery that will hand out dozens of 40,000-dollar cash prizes to state residents who have received coronavirus vaccinations, along with a 400,000-dollar grand prize.
Hogan said that daily drawings for a 40,000-dollar prize will be held from Tuesday to July 3. On July 4, the 400,000-dollar grand prize will be awarded via a random drawing.
All state residents 18 and older who received coronavirus vaccinations in Maryland will be eligible, regardless of when the shots were administered. No registration or entry is necessary.
"That's 40 drawings over 40 days for the chance to win 40,000 dollars each day," Hogan said. "Entry is very simple ... Get your shot for a shot to win."
CONCERTED EFFORTS
Other states and cities have been also eager to offer, with price tags much more affordable. The first incentives were relatively modest: doughnuts, hunting licenses, baseball tickets, cheeseburgers, beer and whiskey. Until the million-dollar prize emerged, the scenario began to look really dramatic.
On Wednesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the state would offer free state park passes, a free glass of wine, as well as a chance to win dinner with the governor and First Lady Tammy Murphy.
In Long Beach, California, the city's mayor is promoting free aquarium tickets for those who get vaccinated. In New York City, the immunized can grab free fries at Shake Shack.
One state that is not offering cash or college tuition, or any other goody, is Pennsylvania, but it developed its own incentive: if 70 percent of eligible people got their shots, the state would lift its mask mandate for everyone.
The U.S. federal government has teamed up with some of the country's largest corporations to offer incentives, such as 10 percent off a grocery bill at Safeway or Albertsons.
MORE CHALLENGING
Earlier in May, U.S. President Joe Biden set a goal of getting 70 percent of the country's adult population to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. Federal data has shown that 48 percent of the U.S. population have received one shot or more of COVID-19 vaccine and 38 percent are fully vaccinated.
However, the average daily pace of coronavirus vaccinations is down almost 50 percent from its April peak, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published on Thursday.
Over the past week, about 1.8 million vaccine doses have been administered each day, a 46 percent drop from the peak rate of nearly 3.4 million per day in mid-April.
CNN on Friday quoted experts as saying that the health community is worried about what lies ahead. Clusters of unvaccinated people may become infected with COVID-19 as they move indoors to beat the summer heat, particularly in the South, noting that a similar situation happened last year.
Public health officials have said that this stage of the vaccination campaign is more challenging since the most eager recipients have already gotten their shots, reported The Hill on Friday.
The United States was seeing an average of 552 COVID-19 deaths per day in the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data, the lowest level since July; more than 589,000 coronavirus deaths have been reported in this country since the start of the pandemic. Enditem