Unique problems call for unique solutions. With prizes ranging from a million dollars to full-ride scholarships, multiple states across the country have turned to vaccine lottery programs to combat the spread of COVID-19.
In states such as Ohio, California, Maryland, Kentucky, and New York, vaccinated residents can opt in to the lottery program for a chance to win weekly prizes. It’s a simple concept – but one with a demonstrated ability to increase vaccination rates by 28% in at least one state.
With less than 40% of eligible South Carolinians fully vaccinated, our state trails behind the rest of the country, leading to Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford (D-Richland) calling for the state to implement a vaccine lottery of its own.
Rep. Rutherford’s vaccine lottery would be modeled off of Ohio’s successful Vax-a-Million program and would be funded through federal relief funds. The Democrat officially called for a vaccine lottery earlier in the month, but his efforts were shut down due to minimal Republican support in a House budget meeting.
It was a budget meeting that was disappointing in more ways than one, as Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg) also saw her proposed $1,200 pandemic bonus for state employees voted down from this year’s budget. In the midst of solidifying the state budget, it seems as though both state employees and a vaccine lottery got lost in the fray.
Opposition to a South Carolina vaccine lottery has also come from Governor Henry McMaster, who referred to it as a “goofy” waste of money. But as Rep. Rutherford explained, “I don’t care if it’s “goofy,” I care if it gets results!”
Without the inclusion of a vaccine lottery in the state’s budget, what is next for South Carolina? Experts have warned that relatively stagnant vaccination rates in southern states may lead to deadly summer outbreaks, but lottery opponents like Governor McMaster would rather let South Carolinians “make up their own minds” than create incentives for vaccination.
Despite opposition, Rep. Rutherford has plans to renew his lottery proposal later in the summer. Meanwhile, the rest of the country is similarly falling short of President Biden’s goal to have 70% of the country’s population vaccinated by July 4. Republican leaders should do their part to stop the spread by greenlighting a vaccine lottery in South Carolina.