Give unvaccinated NM a healthy shot (at a prize)
May 30—Across the nation, governors are digging deep into their marketing playbooks to offer various kinds of incentives for the complacent, the hesitant and the downright reluctant to roll up their sleeves and take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently said she would consider copying ideas used in other states. “Every time someone has a good idea, we’re deploying it,” she told President Joe Biden and other governors during a virtual White House event this month.
Here are a few to choose from:
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine rolled out that state’s Vax-a-Million lottery that helped attract more than 2.75 million to register for their first shot. And the lottery has led to a whopping 94% increase in vaccinations among those aged 16 and 17. In the first drawing last week, a woman won the $1 million prize and a 14-year-old boy won a full-ride college scholarship. Four more drawings are planned in coming weeks. The best part for Ohio residents? Further reducing chances of community spread of COVID-19, which has killed 3.5 million worldwide. The best part for Ohio taxpayers? Prizes are coming out of federal stimulus money.
In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown has rolled out a lottery for people fully vaccinated by June 27. About half of Oregonians are fully vaccinated now and Brown wants to up that number substantially. “How about a chance to win a million dollars … roll up your sleeves … change your life,” Brown said.
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz is offering free passes to Minnesota attractions, sports, fairs and state parks or free fishing licenses. Minnesota wants 70% of people 16 and over vaccinated by July 1.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 50 vaccinated kids ages 12 to 17 will have a chance to win a full ride — tuition, room and board, books and supplies — to public colleges and universities in that state.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced plans to hand out more than $116 million in vaccine incentives, ranging from grocery store gift cards to money in savings accounts for kids.
California was the 17th state to roll out an incentives program, and our governor’s recent statements make it clear she is considering one as well. So it won’t be a surprise if New Mexico gets on this vaccine marketing bandwagon. In fact, it will be disappointing if we don’t.
Put aside for the moment it shouldn’t be that difficult to convince people to get vaccinated. It is a very good idea. COVID has claimed nearly 600,000 lives in the United States and resulted in more than 4,000 deaths in New Mexico. Scores of other people will have long-term health impacts from this nasty bug.
And the vaccines approved, at this point for emergency use, have proven incredibly effective. In New Mexico, the number of “breakthrough” cases for vaccinated people barely registers above 0% since more than 2 million doses have been administered.
While some people suffer side effects, most don’t get much more than a sore arm and feel a bit tired for a day or two — although others have reported nausea and other symptoms that are not insignificant. There were some reports of blood clots with the one-shot J&J vaccine, but it was a handful of cases in millions of people vaccinated and the shots were resumed after a pause by federal authorities to review the cases.
Health decisions are always about improving your odds, and the vaccines are about as close as you can get to a sure thing.
Lujan Grisham has pledged to remove most business restrictions once New Mexico hits the 60% mark for fully vaccinated residents.
New Mexico has been among the leaders nationally in getting people vaccinated. As of Thursday, the state reported that 55.1% of those 16 and over were fully vaccinated and 65% had received a first dose. But the number of doses administered in the last seven days continued to slip, falling below 50,000. That’s less than half what it was earlier, when people eager to get the vaccine scrambled to get their shot.
Various surveys put the number of people reluctant to be vaccinated between 25% and 30%. Reasons vary from safety concerns to “I just haven’t gotten around to it.” But many can be persuaded and enticed to get the shot — as demonstrated by the surge in interest in states that have rolled out incentives. New Mexicans love to play, from their NCAA brackets to New Mexico Lottery scratchers. And the more vaccinations administered, the closer we are to herd immunity.
This would be a good time for New Mexico to get in the game — for a very good cause.
This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
