WAPT: $1m in Ohio. $100 savings bonds in West Virginia. How incentives could improve the vaccination rate

While Krispy Kreme is offering free doughnuts to people who are vaccinated against COVID-19, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is betting dollars to those donuts. The state will give away millions of dollars to vaccinated people and full scholarships to vaccinated children through special lotteries. But will those incentives work? In theory, yes, a survey shows. In a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 47% of people who say they want to “wait and see” before being vaccinated said paid time off to get it would make them more likely to do so, and 39% said a financial incentive of $200 from their employer would work. The lottery is designed as a “regret lottery,” which is more popular than the more common type, said George Loewenstein, professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University and co-director of its Center for Behavioral Decision Research. Participants don’t decide to join, they are simply included in the drawing. If they win, but don’t meet the qualification — being vaccinated, in this case — they often have regrets. Read more at WAPT.