CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will be in Charlotte Wednesday with U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra pushing more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Cooper's visit comes as the state draws its next $1 million vaccine lottery winner. The lottery was created for eligible North Carolinians who have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine as a way to convince more people to roll up their sleeves.
But even as Cooper spends time in Charlotte visiting a vaccination clinic in Uptown, a study from Boston University found incentives aren't swaying people to get vaccinated.
"We have not seen necessarily an increase but it's hard to know what impact those prizes have had. would it be a more steep decline without those prizes," said Dr. David Priest, an infectious disease expert with Novant Health.
With the emergence of more contagious variants like delta starting to spread, the need to get more people protected is at a premium. And all of this as many cities are reducing hours or shutting down altogether mass vaccination clinics.
Novant's mass vaccination clinic in east Charlotte has reduced hours to only operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays due to decreased demand.
"This is an intentional shift in our strategy as we scale back our larger vaccination sites," Priest said. "We're scaling up in the number of primary adult and pediatric clinics that will offer the vaccine."
Here's how the vaccination drawing works:
The North Carolina Education Lottery will conduct a random number generator drawing and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will determine the individual that corresponds to the number that is drawn. Every person who has been vaccinated is already in the state's secure COVID-19 Vaccine Management System.
"We drew one quote-unquote top-tier winner and then 20 alternates. If the person is unwilling to meet terms and conditions, if they don't return our phone call in 48 hours, if there's anything that impedes their ability to claim the prize we'll move on to the next alternate," Hattie Gawande, with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, said.
The incentives haven't had much of an impact on vaccination rates yet, but there are three more chances to win big. Officials hoping the buzz around the first winners will encourage more people to protect themselves.
Audio and visual recordings of the random number generator drawing will be made available. However, NCDHHS said they must then go through a lengthy process of verifying that the individual does not fall under any exclusions from participation in the program. They will then contact the individual to get their consent to receive the money and release their identity. This could take several days, NCDHHS said.
The $4 million Summer Cash and Summer Cash 4 College drawings will use federal Coronavirus Relief Funds to fund the program. The drawings will be supported by the North Carolina State Lottery Director. The scholarship funds will be managed by the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.