To get more people vaccinated in Saskatchewan, the Opposition NDP proposes a vaccine lottery for fully vaccinated people.
Under the proposal, every Saskatchewan resident who receives two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will be entered into a draw for $25,000.
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili called on the Sask. Paty to adopt the ‘Last Mile Lottery’ to increase the vaccine uptake.
Currently, in Saskatchewan, around 60 per cent of people have received their first dose, behind the 65 per cent of Canadians who have received the first dose of the vaccine.
“We all want to put this pandemic behind us as quickly as possible. Families have sacrificed so much, and we need to pull out all the stops to go the last mile and reach herd immunity as quickly as possible,” said Meili in a media release. “An incentive like the one we propose here today would be an excellent way to get all hands on deck - especially as we are still in a race between the vaccines and the variants, particularly the Delta variant that is more aggressive and resistant.”
The lottery proposed would be one component of a “Last Mile” strategy. The strategy includes a plan to proactively reach out to eligible Saskatchewan residents who have not yet received the first dose or made an appointment and work with them to make a vaccine plan. It also plans to train callers to address questions about vaccine safety and efficacy and to work with trusted community leaders to promote vaccine acceptability and uptake in key communities, mobile clinics to be deployed to areas of low vaccine uptake and offered in public spaces, and replicating this strategy for the second dose process to ensure the highest possible rate of full vaccination in Saskatchewan.
Both Alberta and Manitoba have announced prizes for residents who get vaccinated. Alberta offers three $1 million prizes for residents, among other rewards, and Manitoba said they would give out nearly $2 million in cash and scholarships.
