'Vaccine Sweepstakes' Proposed By Birmingham Council President

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Alabama ranks dead last in the country in percentage of eligible residents having received the COVID-19 vaccine. However, Birmingham City Council President William Parker has a plan to possibly change that percentage locally.

Parker is proposing a "vaccine sweepstakes," which would give a $500 gift card or savings bond for 175,000 residents who have and plan to be vaccinated, possibly enter vaccinated people into a drawing of up to $1 million, and make them eligible for daily $10,000 drawings.

The funding for this $13 million proposal would come out of the $141 million Birmingham received from the American Rescue Plan.

Pres. Joe Biden has said he wants to see 70 percent of the U.S. population vaccinated by July 4, and Parker's presentation of his sweepstakes plan says "the Birmingham City Council is up for the challenge."

As of Monday, just 36 percent of Birmingham's population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. While this is above Alabama's percentage of 32 percent, it creates a significant challenge if 70 percent is the goal.

"Obviously we know there are a lot of different factors for why some people are hesitant to receive a vaccine," Parker said. "As elected leaders here, we must do everything possible to not only make the vaccine accessible, but also encourage its use. This is a bold strategy that we think will drastically increase the number of residents wanting to receive a vaccine."

Other similar plans by states and municipalities in the country have helped increase the number of vaccines, as seen in Ohio. The state launched the "Vax-a-Million" campaign, where people getting vaccinated were entered into a $1 million drawing.

Between May 7 and May 10, vaccination rates in Ohio dropped 25 percent compared to the prior weekend. On May 12, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that five vaccinated Ohioans would win $1 million through a random lottery.

Then, the following weekend, from May 14 to May 17, vaccination rates increased 28 percent from the prior weekend, the Ohio Department of Health announced.