California giving $116 million to people who get virus shots

Vaccinated Californians will be eligible for $116.5 million in prize money

LOS ANGELES -- California is giving away the country's largest pot of vaccine prize money — $116.5 million — in an attempt to get millions more inoculated before the most populous state fully reopens next month. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced the prizes, which include $1.5 million each for 10 Californians, the largest single award offered in any state. The goal is to motivate roughly 12 million people who are eligible but not yet vaccinated, though the more than 20 million Californians already partially or fully vaccinated also are in the running for the most valuable prizes. “We're putting aside more resources than any other state in America, and we’re making available the largest prizes of any state in America for those that seek to get vaccinated," Newsom announced at an East Los Angeles high school where people were being vaccinated in the gymnasium.