ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - As the vaccination rate lags in the City of St. Louis, leaders may soon implement a lottery as an incentive for more people to get their COVID-19 shots. The money for the lottery would come from part of the $517 million in federal pandemic aid that St. Louis will receive, according to a report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The idea is one that other cities around the U.S. have also implemented to boost vaccine rates. It was included in the list of spending recommendations presented to Mayor Tishaura Jones by a city advisory board. The grand prize for a similar lottery in New Mexico was $5 million.
There's no word yet on how much the award could be for St. Louis residents, but another idea would be to give residents gift cards after completing vaccination.
As of Tuesday morning, 30.7% of St. Louis City residents have completed vaccination – compared to 38.8% in St. Louis County and 34.7% in Kansas City. Across the state, 36.5% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Jones may announce the inclusion of a vaccine lottery in her proposal to the Board of Aldermen and the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on Tuesday.
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