Bucks Or Beer? States Try Incentives To Persuade People To Get Their Shot

The New York Times: $100 As A Vaccine Incentive? Experiment Suggests It Can Pay Off. 
What’s the best way to persuade the millions of Americans who are still unvaccinated against Covid-19 to get their shots? Reassuring public service announcements about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness have proliferated. But increasingly, people are realizing that it will take more than just information to sway the hesitant. In recent randomized survey experiments by the U.C.L.A. Covid-19 Health and Politics Project, two seemingly strong incentives have emerged. (Vavreck, 5/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Gov. Hogan Offers $100 To State Employees Who Get COVID Vaccine 
Maryland’s state government employees are getting an extra inducement to get vaccinated against the coronavirus: $100 payments. “With this incentive program, we are further encouraging state employees to get vaccinated to help keep themselves, their families, and their communities healthy and safe,” Gov. Larry Hogan said Monday in a statement announcing the incentive plan. (Wood, 5/3)

NBC News: New Jersey 'Shot And A Beer' Program Offers Free Beer To Those Who Get Covid-19 Vaccine
The state of New Jersey introduced a new program on Monday offering a free beer to those who get a Covid-19 vaccine in May. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Twitter that the state was teaming up with over a dozen breweries for the “Shot and a Beer” project. (Atkins, 5/3)

Ohio Valley ReSource: Kentucky Considers Incentives As Vaccination Numbers Continue To Fall
The numbers of new COVID-19 cases remain relatively low in Kentucky, but as vaccination rates slow Gov. Andy Beshear said he is considering incentives to encourage people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. (Boyer, 5/3)

The Washington Post: Why Some Coronavirus Vaccine Skeptics Changed Their Minds 
Kim Simmons, a 61-year-old small-business owner in Illinois, vividly remembers the moment she went from vaccine skeptic to vaccine-ready: watching a Johns Hopkins University doctor on C-SPAN make the case for why the shots are safe. For Lauren Bergner, a 39-year-old homemaker in New Jersey, it was when she realized it would make it easier for her family to attend New York Yankees games, after the team announced fans would need to show proof of a negative coronavirus test or that they had been vaccinated. (Diamond, 5/3)

In other news about the vaccine rollout —

The Boston Globe: New England Leads The Nation In Vaccination Rates, CDC Data Show
While concern is rising that fewer people may be stepping forward to get their coronavirus vaccinations, Massachusetts and other New England states lead the nation in the rate of people who have gotten at least their first shot of one of the vaccines. New Hampshire led the states with 60.7 percent of residents having gotten at least a first dose or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New Hampshire was followed by Massachusetts (57.3 percent), Vermont (56.6), Connecticut (55.6), and Maine (55.2). Decidedly non-New England Hawaii (53.7) was next on the list, but Rhode Island (53.3) followed quickly behind. (Finucane, 5/3)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Hits COVID-19 Vaccine Milestone: 50% Have At Least One Shot
Michigan hit a new milestone Monday in the race to end the COVID-19 pandemic: 50% of residents age 16 and older — about 4 million people — have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Health leaders have said it will take at least 70% of the population to be fully vaccinated to stop widespread outbreaks and protect the most vulnerable, though with more contagious variants of the virus circulating now in Michigan and nationally, that number may be higher. (Jordan Shamus, 5/3)

CBS News: More Than 20 States Not Ordering All Available Doses As COVID-19 Vaccinations Slow 
As the pace of vaccinations continues to slow across the country, more than 20 states are not ordering all the available COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to them by the federal government, according to a CBS News tally.  ... CBS News reached out to health departments in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and among the 38 states that responded, 22 said they weren't ordering all the doses available to them for the week of May 3. (Bayer and Tin, 5/3)

CNBC: Some Still Prefer J&J Covid-19 Vaccine After U.S. Pause, Survey Shows
Fewer Americans say they prefer the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine after the U.S. temporarily paused its use in April, but 17% of Americans in a new survey still say it’s their top choice. That’s down from 29% in March, before the pause, according to consecutive surveys of more than 1,500 Americans done for CNBC by global data and survey firm Dynata. (Tirrell and Wells, 5/4)

AP: West Virginia State Parks To Host Vaccine Clinics
West Virginia will have free vaccination clinics at state parks and forests through Memorial Day. Currently, clinics are open at 10 sites, and that will expand to all parks and forests on Memorial Day weekend. Vaccines are available to guests, employees and families of employees. (5/4)

Axios: CVS Health Expands To Employer-Based COVID-19 Clinics In Bid To Reach 'Moveable Middle'
The U.S. vaccination effort is preparing to lean on employers, houses of worship, community organizations and even home-based delivery in order to reach the people who haven't yet gotten vaccinated. Shots will need to become much more easily accessible and trusted organizations will have to help overcome vaccine hesitancy in order to keep America's vaccination progress going as demand begins to wane. (Reed, 5/4)

Also —

Fox News: Don't Laminate COVID-19 Vaccination Card, Experts Warn
Several businesses offered to laminate people’s COVID-19 vaccination cards for free in a bid to keep them safe from damage, but several public health officials have advised against doing so for several reasons, one of which is the potential need to record booster doses. Another reason, a Florida health official warned, is that the heat from the laminating process could ruin the information on the card or make it difficult to read. (Hein, 5/3)

CBS News: Sports Stadiums Asking Fans For Their "Vaccine Passports"
Top officials at the NBA and MLB hope the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind them as teams start to welcome fans back into stadiums. But to watch the game live, a growing number of venues are asking visitors to prove they've gotten their shots by displaying what's called a "vaccine passport." Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, are among a longer list of sports spaces that now require digital vaccine verifications. Those teams and others have been using an app called Health Pass from technology company Clear for COVID-19 screening. In some cases, showing your status on Health Pass could be the difference between watching a game in person or at home. (Brooks, 5/3)

The New York Times: How The Centner Academy Became A Beacon For Anti-Vaxxers 
A fifth-grade math and science teacher peddled a bogus conspiracy theory on Wednesday to students at Centner Academy, a private school in Miami, warning them that they should not hug parents who had been vaccinated against the coronavirus for more than five seconds because they might be exposed to harmful vaccine shedding.“Hola Mami,” one student wrote in an email to her parents from school, saying that the teacher was “telling us to stay away from you guys.” Nearly a week before, the school had threatened teachers’ employment if they got a coronavirus vaccine before the end of the school year. (Mazzei, 5/2)