As the number of daily new COVID-19 vaccinations steadily declines in New Hampshire, the state is using a new tool to incentivize residents to get the shot – a free ticket to the Lancaster Fair.
The program, a partnership between Vermont and New Hampshire, will give a ticket to each person that receives a Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a Lancaster vaccine clinic on Friday. Appointments for the vaccination site are encouraged, but not required, according to a press release sent out Tuesday morning. The site, which has more than 600 doses available, will be open between 12 and 6 p.m.
The ticket will give access to the fair, scheduled for early September, but not to the paid grandstand shows.
It’s still unclear whether incentivization programs like this are effective. An April poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found that 62% of vaccine-hesitant residents said giveaways or raffles would have no effect on whether they got the shot. Another 37% said it would make them less likely to get the vaccine.
Still, several other states have upped the ante, offering free beer, savings bonds, and even a shot at a million dollars in exchange for vaccination.
Demand for the vaccine in the Granite State has petered out over the last couple weeks. In the last seven days, 9,339 people have received their first shot, a huge drop from April, when the state vaccinated more than 20,000 people a week. A little more than 55% of the population has at least started their vaccine series, according to the state’s dashboard.