MINNEAPOLIS — The word 'incentive' means:
"A thing that motivates or encourages one to do something."
And like many things, incentives can look very different.
This news about Ohio doing a statewide lottery, to incentivize Ohioans to get vaccinated, made huge headlines when it was first announced.
Ohio is calling it the Vax-A-Million.
"Ohio Vax-A-Million is a public outreach campaign to increase awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage everyone to get the shot," the campaign video describes.
The announcement created so many ripples that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said in a New York Times Op/Ed column that all the chatter generated the equivalence of over $23 million worth of free ads about vaccines.
He explained that since the announcement, "available data" suggests shots are up 49% among people ages 16 and over, up 36% among minorities and up 65% in Ohioans living in rural areas.
The lottery also offers five full-ride scholarships to any Ohio state college or university, which may also explain why vaccinations among 16 and 17-year-olds in Ohio have increased 94%.
A chance to win one million dollars.
It sounded so good, Colorado jumped in. Governor Jared Polis announced on Tuesday the state would be doing something similar to Ohio's program.
"This is a million dollars cash on the barrel that you can use today, buy a new home, take that vacation," Governor Polis said. "Do whatever you like--a million dollars goes a long way."
Folks ages 12 to 17 are also eligible for scholarships in Colorado.
So that brings us to how Minnesotans are doing in terms of vaccine figures.
The big counties are doing relatively well. For example both Hennepin and Ramsey counties sit at a bit over 70%, with Hennepin county at 72.3% and Ramsey County at 70.1%.
However, there are many counties in our state that still have vaccination rates that sit below 60%. Some are even in the 40% range.
So to sweeten the deal, the governor announced the first 100,000 Minnesotans to get vaccinated between this weekend and the end of June will be eligible for things like state park passes, fishing licenses, state fair tickets and a $25 visa gift card.
"Take advantage of the incentives that we are offering, get out and explore Minnesota," Gov Walz said on Thursday. "You, your family, your community will be safe, and you'll get to see the great things we have."
The goal is to to provide vaccine to 70% of Minnesotans 16 and older by July 1st. The federal goal being that number by July 4th. All this keeping in mind that MDH experts say Minnesota needs to reach 80% or higher to inhibit the spread of the coronavirus.