Sweepstakes, Raffles And Giveaways: Are COVID-19 Vaccination Incentives Making A Difference?
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Get a COVID-19 vaccine these days and you could walk away with all kinds of freebies.
Local governments and businesses are stepping up to offer incentives, but the results haven't been consistent.
At the Dallas College Cedar Valley Campus on Tuesday, June 29, volunteers waited patiently in a quiet gym for anyone who might want to get vaccinated.
"We have Six Flags tickets. We have food. So come get your vaccine," said Sharon Davis, chief critical response officer for Dallas College.
In the first three hours, 14 people showed up.
Brenda Martinez admits she was a little scared to get vaccinated, but was eventually convinced by those around her to get it.
"My friends and family. They pushed me a little bit," she said.
She didn't even know about the free ticket to Six Flags, the box of free food, or the goodie bag from HEB she could collect for getting vaccinated.
At a pop-up vaccination clinic at Emmett J Conrad High School in Dallas, the free Six Flags tickets being offered came as a surprise to many, as well.
"Really? That's cool!" said Michelle Martinez, 16, who said she wanted to be vaccinated for her own safety and others' before returning to school in the fall.
"No, we didn't know. Lucky him!" said Marlene Porras, who brought her son to get vaccinated.
Joaquin Porras, 14, says he just wants to be able to safely travel.
"So I can go visit my family in California and other places," he said.
Incentives are becoming more common.
The Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday announced it's launching a sweepstakes for residents of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton counties who get vaccinated between June 9 and September 1.
Those who enroll can win prizes from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Stars, and more.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has a similar raffle for city of Dallas residents vaccinated between June 1 and July 23 offering free roundtrip flights, sports tickets, State Fair passes, an autographed Luka Doncic jersey and a $1,500 grand prize.
The mayor's spokesperson said about 1,000 have registered in the first two weeks.
"We see in some places those incentives are working," said White House Vaccinations Coordinator, Dr. Bechara Choucair.
In Ohio, a lottery with million dollar prizes boosted vaccinations, while in Arkansas, a program offering free scratch-off tickets fell flat.
"You'll see places like Chicago where they're offering free Lollapalooza tickets," said Dr. Choucair, noting all the incentives being offered.
For some people, he believes it can be an effective motivator.
He warns, though, it has to be part of a larger strategy.
"Incentives is just one tool in our tool box, we still have a lot of work to do to get people's vaccine confidence levels up. And I think there are people who want to get vaccinated and we have to make it as easy as possible for them," said Dr. Choucair.