For a Fort McMurray First Nation, weekly draw for $1,000 was ticket to vaccination success
CBC
A First Nation in northern Alberta has been running a vaccination incentive program that, unlike the province's vaccine lottery, has translated into a significant increase in first doses.
"The community has responded really well to it," said Samantha Whalen, a councillor with Fort McMurray 468 First Nation.
In mid-July, 38 per cent of the 221 adults living on-reserve had received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
But those numbers started to increase after a prize winner's name was announced on Facebook each week. As of Tuesday, 76 per cent of adults living on-reserve have received at least one dose, said Whalen.
The "Don't hesitate, vaccinate" campaign for people living on- and off-reserve offered 10 draws for a $1,000 prize, Whalen said. With more prizes, the odds of winning were higher, so people signed up, she said.
"If their neighbour wins, or their friend, and they're kind of sitting on the fence, then they go in [and get vaccinated]," she said. "I don't think there's anybody out there that doesn't want some kind of a free prize."
She said the province should have done the same with its lottery, which offered three prizes of $1 million.
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