People are being encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 with cash incentives.
But who is paying for it?
Can I get reinfected by Omicron?
Where is this happening?
In Ohio, many people were taking advantage of the cash incentives. It has been an effective tactic. However, public health funds have dried up. Small businesses can’t afford to give cash either because of the labor market.
A company called Cleveland Cliffs achieved a 75% vaccination rate using this strategy.
The company paid each employee $1,500 to get vaccinated. They added an additional $1,500 if at least 75% of employees at each location was vaccinated.
Companies like Kroger and Honda have made attempts at this too.
Ohio offered a plan similar to that of Cleveland Cliffs for its 49,000 state employees. Each employee was eligible to earn up to $1,000.
The Ohio health department allocated $4.9 million in federal funds to 39 local health departments for incentive programs last year. The state agency allotted $1 million to many other small health departments.
There are no plans for statewide incentives this year. However some are still going on in some Ohio counties.
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