The use of lotteries as public health incentives for vaccinations has successful precidents --studies

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Mon, 2021-06-21 12:41 — mike kraft

Lotteries as public health incentives began before covid-19 As U.S. states adopt vaccine lotteries, the idea, championed by global health researchers, has begun to catch on. Claire Parker, Sammy Westfall Washington Post

In some parts of the world with more coronavirus vaccine doses than willing takers, attention-grabbing incentives have begun to catch on. Among them: the chance to win big.

Ten vaccinated Californians won $1.5 million each in vaccination lotteries last week. A 22-year-old in Ohio became a surprise vaccine millionaire last month. New York, Maryland and other states are also offering major winnings, and as U.S. vaccination rates slow, White House officials have praised the approach.

Other countries have begun to follow suit. Two provinces in Canada announced lotteries with hefty cash prizes this month. Moscow is raffling off five cars a week to vaccinated residents. Hong Kong residents who get the shots are eligible to win a luxury apartment or airline tickets.

Vaccine doses remain scarce in many parts of the world. But in the few countries with abundant doses, lottery proponents say the hope of receiving eye-popping prizes could propel the vaccine hesitant to roll up their sleeves.

It’s a gamble at the intersection of behavioral economics and public health: the idea that an opportunity to roll the dice could drive healthy behavior — potentially more effectively than more equitable incentives could.

Many public health experts champion the approach, and they say there’s precedent for at least some short-term success around the world. ....

Damien de Walque, a lead economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group who worked on the Lesotho study, said lotteries can be effective because humans have a psychological tendency to overestimate small probabilities. Risk-loving people often prefer a high-value prize with a small likelihood of winning to the certainty of receiving a low-value prize.

Widely publicizing the winners can amplify this effect by triggering people’s aversion to loss, said Emily Largent, a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school. ...

Still, both expense and optics could be limiting factors. U.S. states and Canadian provinces have faced backlash from critics who charge that there are better uses of public funds. In places more strapped for cash, lotteries may prove more difficult to justify, Largent said. ...

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