West Virginia is the latest state to offer prizes for people who get vaccinated against COVID-19. Officials said that anybody who receives the shot will be entered into a lottery where they can win a bunch of prizes, including $1 million or a customized gun.
"To be eligible, you have got to get your first shot," Governor Jim Justice said. "When I start through these prizes … there's going to be a run on people getting their first shot. So go get 'em. Go get 'em so you'll be eligible where we can draw your name, and absolutely you could win something that would be phenomenal."
The prizes will include five custom hunting rifles, five custom hunting shotguns, five lifetime hunting and fishing permits, two souped-up pickup trucks, and $1 million. The state will also be raffling off two four-year scholarships to any school in West Virginia for kids between the ages of 12 and 15 who get vaccinated.
The lottery is open to anybody who has received a shot since the winter. There will be weekly drawings that run from June 20 through August 4.
According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, 51.2% of the residents in the state have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 41.2% are fully vaccinated.
"The faster we get people across the finish line, the more lives we save. That's all there is to it," Justice said. "If the tab just keeps running, the cost is enormous. The hospitalizations are enormous. We have to get all of our folks across the finish line."
Photo: Getty Images