A new study is adding to the growing body of evidence that using lotteries to incentivize vaccine uptake doesn’t actually work.
In an effort to boost inoculation rates, several U.S. states had offered a chance to win cash and other prizes for those who receive a COVID-19 vaccine. While these initiatives generated a considerable amount of buzz in the media, researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine say they did little to increase vaccination rates.
The researchers published their findings in . They had already examined Ohio's US$1 million lottery incentive in a previous study and found that their program did not lead to an increase in vaccination.
For this new study, they expanded their analysis to 15 U.S. states that held vaccine lotteries between May 24 and July 19, 2021 and compared the vaccination rates in these states to 31 states that did not hold lotteries.
In states that held a lottery, vaccination rates did not change significantly after the lottery was announced. Compared to states that did not hold lotteries, vaccination trends remained similar.
The researchers concluded that there was no association between lottery programs and increased rates of vaccination.
A few Canadian provinces also held vaccine lotteries last summer. Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta offered chances to win VIP tickets to sports games, vacation packages and scholarships for anyone who received a COVID-19 vaccine during a specific period of time. There were also cash prizes ranging from $100,000 to $1 million.
“Further studies and resources should be devoted to other strategies to increase vaccination rates, including those that more directly target underlying reasons for vaccine hesitancy,†said corresponding author Anica Law in a news release.
