June 10 saw the launch of North Carolina’s vaccine lottery and despite the initiative working in other states, there is yet to be a significant uptake.
During a press conference on Friday, Governor Cooper (pictured) revealed that the first 10 days of the program saw vaccination rates increase just 1%, going from 54% of adults who have received their vaccine to 55%.
According to Johns Hopkins University, around 39% of North Carolina’s total population is fully vaccinated, meaning the region is falling behind most other states.
Despite the inclusion of a $1m cash prize, North Carolina residents remain sceptical of the nation's vaccination efforts.
Speaking on Friday, Cooper said, "We're hoping over the next few days and few weeks that we will see some significant improvement in our numbers. We're trying to find everything that we can, even keeping steady would be a positive thing."
Vaccination lotteries have been a proven success elsewhere, with the introduction of incentives seeing Ohio vaccination rates increase by 33%. A prize pot of around $116.5m also saw vaccination numbers rise in California.
President Biden has asked Americans to respond to these incentives and receive their vaccines. On Friday he said: “Even while we’re making incredible progress, it remains a serious and deadly threat. We’re heading into, God willing, the summer of joy, the summer of freedom. On July 4, we are going to celebrate our independence from the virus as we celebrate our independence of our nation. We want everyone to be able to do that.”
