Cash incentives could convince more Americans to get vaccinated

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Study showed that giving cash incentives to unvaccinated Americans are effective to motivate them to get the COVID-19 shots.
• The survey, with 75,000 respondents, was led by the University of California in Los Angeles.
• Other food and beverage companies have offered free drinks and foods in exchange for proof of vaccination.

A recent US study showed that providing cash incentives like the $100 payments can convince Americans to get the vaccine shots.

Over 75,000 unvaccinated individuals were interviewed in a survey led by the University of California in Los Angeles. Around 30 percent of respondents said that the cash payment of $100 would persuade them to get vaccinated.

“It is not a surprising result. We’ve used cash incentives, believe it or not in other settings, encouraged folks to do sexually transmitted infection screenings and some other interventions. So they do work,” University of California, San Francisco infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong said.

The poll also found that respondents were willing to get the shots if that would mean they don’t have to wear a mask or observe social distancing during gathering events.

With these results, Chin-Hong said that authorities would need to provide options that would lure the unwilling people to receive the shots.

“It’s not one size fits all. I think cash incentives may appeal to some. To others, it may mean that their friends are going to Outside Lands and they need a vaccine to get in, and maybe that might be the incentive. For others it might be the vaccinated section at the Giants game seem to have a little more liberties than the unvaccinated section,” he said.

Giving cash benefits as a way of getting approval of people to be vaccinated has been a regular practice in the past. In some states, people are being given with something like a free beer, aside from the usual cash incentives.

In West Virginia, teens to young adults (16 to 35 years old) are being offered $100 savings bonds upon vaccination. In Maryland, fully vaccinated state workers can receive $100.

In New Jersey, breweries are giving out free drinks for people who got the shots. Connecticut and Washington, D.C. are also following suit.

Krispy Kreme food company is handing out free donuts for people who show proof that they obtained the shots.

“So vital that we all get vaccinated. We need to get it done right now because the longer they wait, the more the chance of variants locally,” Chin-Hong said.

On the other hand, the US Census Bureau data found that less than 15 percent of Americans identify themselves as anti-vaccination individuals.

Source: News10.com