To reach the goal of 70% of Minnesotans over age 16 vaccinated by July 1, Minnesota is following other states in offering incentives.
Through June 30 the first 100,000 Minnesotans to get their first shot will get to choose a reward including a fishing license, state fair tickets, or passes to Nickelodeon Universe (all the rewards are listed here).
Gov. Tim Walz said at Fort Snelling State Park Thursday it’s open to anyone, but aimed at people aged 18 to 35 who may have families who would enjoy those outings, but are healthy and haven’t been in a rush to get the vaccine. He said there are some people who will refuse to get a dose, but this is supposed to be an extra nudge for those who haven’t yet done it.
“We wanted a program that we thought matched Minnesota,” Walz said. “And I think these especially dealing with the outdoors was very Minneostan. We do want to encourage people to get out. We hope that these are life long. This might be someone’s first fishing license. We hope they buy one every year after that. We wanted to tailor this to Minnesota attractions, staying and doing things in Minnesota.”
Some states like Ohio have offered lotteries with eye-catching cash prizes or college tuition.
“I don’t have the hard data to show (incentives like the lottery) increase a lot and the other states haven’t done that,” Walz said. “We believe this is a good way to try to get some excitement back in it. We did talk about (the lottery) and continue to say, ‘Are there other things that we can do?’ I think with this one, you’re not in a lottery. In those states it’s all-or-nothing. Somebody might get $1 million but there’s going to be thousands that are getting nothing. Here in Minnesota, everybody’s getting something.”
Sixty-four percent of those 16 and older have at least one dose; more than ⅕ of 12- to 15-year-olds have gotten a Pfizer dose; 2.5 million Minnesotans are fully vaccinated. The positivity rate was at 2.5% and low hospitalization rates continue to decrease. As of Friday, virtually all restrictions and capacity limits end, which Walz says is right on track due to the vaccine. Currently there’s a walk-in one-dose Johnson & Johnson clinic at the state fairgrounds.
Will there be any retroactive rewards for those who jumped at the first chance to get a vaccine? The reward might be that that 70% benchmark benefits us all.
“The first thing I would say is thank you for doing that,” Walz said. “You did get something. You got immunity for both you and your community. I don’t want to say that the people waiting for the incentive don;t find the moral imperative, there’s just more to it. We’ve talked about that, is there something at the end of this where we do something for everyone who got vaccinated. I think the vast majority of people who got the vaccine were happy to get it, they were glad to do it both for their own health and for the community. This is just one more addition to that.”
Walz said the rewards are paid for with federal COVID relief money that was earmarked for incentives and public service announcements.
