I like to think of myself as an adult, and I take the responsibilities of adulthood seriously. As soon as I became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, I scheduled an appointment to get one, even electing to drive to a vaccination site seventy-five miles away so I would receive an inoculation a month and a half earlier than I would at a closer site. I am an adult, I have obligations... an obligation to protect those around me, an obligation to avoid burdening an overextended healthcare system, an obligation to my employer and my coworkers to facilitate the reopening of the workplace and the return to work of about eighty percent of my compatriots (this is still up in the air, though Human Resources has distributed COVID surveys to assess how many of us are fully inoculated). Yes, I like to think of myself as an adult, and my adult responsibilities were sufficient to convince me to receive the vaccine.
Not everybody feels this way, some because of anti-vaccination stances, inspired by conspiracy theories, and some because of laziness, inertia, or concern about not having paid sick leave if they feel a not-that-uncommon post-vaccine malaise. In this case, incentives can work, whether free donuts, free beer, free subway cards, scholarships, or as Tengrain notes, lottery tickets. The prospect of free lottery tickets for vaccine recipients hasn't gone over well in all quarters, as evidenced by state Representative Jena Powell's reaction:
Ohio state Rep. Jena Powell says the state’s vaccine lottery program is “a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.”
— New Day (@NewDay) May 24, 2021
“It feels like a bribe to Ohioans ... [They] don’t want gimmicky programs.”https://t.co/5LJ7IlWpmh pic.twitter.com/VdX3w9JEqD
Oddly enough, I'm sure she wouldn't object to lowering marginal tax rates on the highest brackets, or for that matter, PPE loans for businesses owned by well-heeled, well-connected individuals, even though those are 'gimmicky programs'. I'm sure no regular clock-punching Ohioan would object to a shot, however long, at a million dollar payout. Powell is just objecting because this 'bribe' is going to a plebian. Bribes are sonly for wealthy insiders!
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