The Effects of Incentives on COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

By Linh Aragon , Kathy Chamlee , Sarah Graham , Jack Liu , Jesse Liu , Lilian Wong , Tony Zawilski

As part of MITRE’s Moving Out on Vaccines (MOoV) initiative, the Black Pearl research team used publicly available data sets to conduct an impact analysis of incentives on COVID-19 vaccination rates in six U.S. incentive programs.

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In the first half of 2021, offering incentives emerged as a strategy in the U.S. to motivate individuals to get vaccinated against COVID-19. A chance to win a million-dollar lottery was Ohio’s incentive offering to adults, while teens who got vaccinated were entered into a drawing for a full-ride, four-year scholarship. Other states began offering similar benefits and prize incentives. Businesses announced food giveaways, gift cards, and discounts in hopes of increasing U.S. vaccination rates. Were these incentive strategies effective?

As part of MITRE’s Moving Out on Vaccines (MOoV) initiative, the Black Pearl research team used publicly available data sets to conduct an impact analysis of incentives on COVID-19 vaccination rates in six U.S. incentive programs.

To learn the details, read the full paper or the executive summary.