Hundreds of Thousands More in Federal Dollars Allocated for Second COVID Vaccine Lottery in Ohio That Targets Ages 12-25

By B.N. Frank

Ohio is one of several states that funded COVID-19 “Vaccine Lotteries” to encourage residents to “roll up their sleeves” (see 1, 2). Ohio lawmakers who did NOT support the lottery introduced a bill to cancel it as well as legislation to protect residents who don’t want to take any vaccines. Nevertheless, Ohio governor Mike Dewine recently announced a new vaccine lottery for residents ages 12-25.

From Yahoo:

DeWine offers $100,000 scholarships to encourage vaccinations

Sep. 23—COLUMBUS — “We gotta throw the football. We gotta try to make something happen,” Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday as he announced another round of lottery incentives to drive up vaccination rates, this time among younger Ohioans.

Over five consecutive days, Oct. 11-15, Ohio will hold lotteries for those between the ages of 12 and 25, dangling big prizes of $100,000 college scholarships as well as 15 smaller prizes of $10,000 scholarships.

The Ohio Vax-2-School Program would generally mirror the spring’s five-week Vax-a-Million lottery program for vaccinated adults with $1 million prizes and full-ride scholarships for those under 18.

Again, the governor will use federal coronavirus dollars to pay the tab, but he said the investment would still be worth it even if the state had to pay for it itself. The future of Ohio’s people and economy is at stake, he said.

“Every day when we get more Ohioans who are vaccinated, that’s fewer people that are going to end up in the hospital, fewer people who are going to die, and fewer people who are going to spread it,” Mr. DeWine said. “…So yeah, it’s really worth it. This money is money well spent, whether it was state funds or federal.”

Mr. DeWine drew both praise and scorn when he announced Vax-a-Million last spring. The vaccination rate climbed initially with the governor estimating about 100,000 additional vaccinations, but the effect didn’t last long. The daily uptake rate remains stubbornly slow, and Ohio trails the national averages in terms of its vaccinated population.

While older populations have generally heeded the call for vaccinations, only about 46 percent of those between the ages of 12 and 25 have rolled up their sleeves. It’s the one area where the state has the most room to grow, Mr. DeWine said.

Specifics on how the incentives will work will come next week from the Ohio Lottery Commission, which oversaw the last round when Ohioans signed up by providing verifiable information about their vaccinations.

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In related news, earlier this week the governor of New York announced that her state would be sponsoring 120 COVID-19 “pop-up” sites to also target unvaccinated children.

Vaccine side effects, injuries, deaths have been reported for decades (see 1, 2, 3). They continue to be reported about the COVID jabs as well – (see 1, 2, 3, 4).

Some experts have also testified that the U.S. COVID death count is not being accurately reported. Additionally, a growing number of Americans are suing employers over COVID vaccine mandates (see 1, 2, 3, 4).