How’s This For A Vax Incentive? A Shot At Winning $5 Million

Have you received your COVID-19 vaccine yet? No? Don't plan to? That's okay. It's ultimately your decision and yours alone. However, if you're still on the fence and just haven't made your mind up yet, you are definitely not alone. Listen to what New York is doing to add incentive to get more people protected against COVID-19.

According to News 10 Albany, anyone that gets a COVID-19 vaccine at any of the 10 NYS mass vaccination sites across the state between May 24 -28, 2021 will receive a scratch-off lottery ticket and a chance to win some big money. $5 million!!! The value of the lottery ticket is $20.

Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement Thursday morning in Buffalo in an effort to get more people to receive the vaccine. And he's calling it, "Vax and Scratch." According to Gov. Cuomo, the chances of winning something are 1 in 9.

Some of you reading this may recall that earlier this month, the state of Ohio used a similar tactic to encourage residents to get the COVID vaccination. That was for a shot at winning the top prize of $1 million. Apparently, that incentive was quite successful.

This is all in an effort to boost New York's slowing vaccination rates, according to Governor Cuomo. New York has recorded an average of 123,806 daily shots in arms over the past 14 days. That's a drop of 43% from 216, 040 as of April 12.

New York will also be setting up pop-up vaccination sites at seven airports across the state for U.S. residents. For more on the story, please visit News 10's website here.