West Virginia is giving an incentive to residents who get their COVID-19 vaccine. The governor announced Monday that residents between the ages of 16 and 35 who receive a vaccination would get a $100 savings bond. People in that age range who have already been vaccinated will also receive the savings bond.
“Our kids today probably don’t really realize just how important they are in shutting this thing down. I’m trying to come up with a way that’s truly going to motivate them — and us — to get over the hump,” said Gov. Jim Justice at a press conference.
The state will be using stimulus money from the CARES Act to fund the savings bonds.
Justice said the goal is to more than 70 percent of the population vaccinated. So far, 52 percent of West Virginians have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and 40 percent are fully vaccinated. But, over the last couple of weeks, the demand for the vaccine has dipped.
Justice said the state needs to engage with the younger population, who is “not taking vaccines as fast as we’d like them to take them.” Young people have also been getting the virus at noticeably higher rates. He says that if the state hopes to make its goal and get COVID under control, younger people need to get vaccinated.
“If we really want to move the needle, we’ve got to get our younger people vaccinated,” Justice stated.
The governor added that if the state can get to its 70 percent goal, “the masks go away, the hospitalizations go away, and the deaths become minimal.”
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