In an ideal world, almost completely eliminating your chances of catching or spreading COVID-19—and getting to safely resume normal life—would be enough incentive for people to get vaccinated. But it’s fast becoming apparent that we aren’t living in that world. Although a significant chunk of the country has now had their shots and caseloads are largely decreasing in the United States, there remains a sizable population of Americans who are either hesitant to get jabbed or flat-out unwilling to do so, either because of fears about the vaccines or some kind of daffy political hang-ups.
While some people may hold out no matter what, West Virginia has a novel idea to sell those who are merely vaccine-hesitant on the shots: give them money. The state announced this week that it will pay residents between 16 and 35 a $100 savings bond to get vaccinated, a plan that will set the state back $27.5 million, but that would be worth it—and potentially save money in more sustained pandemic-related costs—if it brings the state’s vaccination rate up to help quash the virus. “It would be such a drop in the bucket compared to the ungodly amount of money we’re spending right now,” Governor Jim Justice told the Washington Post. “If I’m able to pull this off and we are able to shut this down for the small price of $27.5 million…I would tell those critics to kiss my butt.”
As it stands, more than 96 million Americans—close to a third of the country’s population—are fully vaccinated, and even more have had at least one shot. But the vaccination rate has slowed more recently, which may reflect reluctance or refusal on the part of some. States and businesses have sought ways to motivate people to get their shots, including with free drinks and free doughnuts. But West Virginia is the first state to offer young residents free money in an effort to bring about herd immunity.
That such an incentive may be needed to convince people to get a shot after living through a pandemic that has killed nearly 575,000 Americans and is still ravaging nations like India, with more dangerous variants and large unvaccinated populations, is maddening. “The fact that we as a country have to beg or pay or bribe people right now to take this lifesaving vaccine, the optics are awful internationally,” Baylor College of Medicine vaccine expert Peter Hotez told the Post. “We look like a nation of adolescents.” But it may be worth it if it helps push more toward vaccines, especially in states like West Virginia that are lagging behind. “Our kids today probably don’t really realize just how important they are in shutting this thing down,” said Justice, a Republican. “I’m trying to come up with a way that’s truly going to motivate them—and us—to get over the hump.”
If the promise of free stuff doesn’t help push the U.S. toward herd immunity, perhaps the promise of more freedom will. Already, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has relaxed its recommended guidelines for fully-vaccinated people, and states and cities are making plans for vaccine passports to allow those who have received their shots to go to concerts and other events they enjoyed in the Before Times. “We all want to put this behind us, and getting people vaccinated is the way to do this,” Chicago Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady said Tuesday, announcing the city’s “Vax Pass” program. “So I don’t think of it as a bribe.”
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