In an attempt to get millions more vaccinated, California in the US is giving vaccine prize money worth $116.5 million to few lucky winners. It comes before the nation’s most populous state fully reopens next month.

Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced the prizes, which is $1.5 million and  people who have already been fully vaccinated will be eligible. Newsom said, “We’re putting aside more resources than any other state in America and we’re making available the largest prizes of any state in America for those that seek to get vaccinated.” California is not the first state to offer vaccine prizes. 

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About 63% of the 34 million eligible Californians have received the shots and around 12 million are still not vaccinated.

The state’s reopening is pegged for June 15, and on that day a drawing will be held to award 10 vaccinated people the top prize, whereas another 30 will win $50,000 each, with those drawings starting June 4. “I hope the prizes will help the state ensure more than 70% of eligible people are vaccinated by the time the state reopens. This is all in an effort to incentivize and build momentum.” Newsom said.

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Earlier this week, Ohio announced the first $1 million winners of its ‘Vax-a-Million’ contest, as well as the first child to win a full college scholarship. New York is giving 50 full scholarships to children aged between 12 and 17 to public universities and colleges in the state, selecting 10 winners every Wednesday. 

Dr Tomás J. Aragón, director of the state’s department of public health said, “Some Californians weren’t ready to get their COVID-19 vaccine on Day One, and that’s OK. This programme is designed to encourage those who need extra support to get vaccinated and help keep California safe.”

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Newsom’s office said that the programme is aimed at reaching people and the communities hardest hit by the pandemic. That’s why California is turning to cash prizes to encourage people to get their vaccination shots. The states are using a “vaccine equity metric” to track the progress, which splits zip codes into four groups, ranging from least to most advantaged.

According to the state, around half of people in the least advantaged neighbourhoods still haven’t been vaccinated, less than a quarter of people in the most advantaged areas haven’t been vaccinated yet.