Health & Fitness
Prizes For Worcester Youth Who Get Coronavirus Vaccine: City
A bike, Nintendo Switch devices and a big-screen TV are being used to entice residents between 12 and 24 to get vaccinated.
WORCESTER, MA — Worcester is starting a local version of the statewide VaxMillions contest.
In a bid to get more young people vaccinated, the city will offer a variety of big-ticket prizes to people under age 24. During drawings this fall, the city will give out a bike, an iPad, a 43-inch TV and Nintendo Switch devices.
The prizes are meant to boost vaccination rates among young people, who are typically harder to reach. As of Aug. 5, only about 36 percent of Worcester residents between ages 12 and 19 had been fully vaccinated, according to state data. There is also only one vaccine type, Pfizer, approved for use in people between 12 and 18. The Modern and Johnson & Johnson versions are approved for people above 18.
By comparison, almost 80 percent of Worcester residents between 50 and 64 have been vaccinated, according to state data. More than 85 percent of people over 65 in Worcester have been vaccinated.
The state started the VaxMillions program earlier this summer to entice harder-to-reach populations into getting a coronavirus shot. Top prizes include $1 million and scholarships for people under 18.
Worcester's contest is only open to fully vaccinated people between ages 12 and 24. The city will hold a series of prize drawings between Sept. 23 and Oct. 14. Rules about how to enter and who's eligible can be found on a special city webpage.
