New York offers 50 college scholarships in push to vaccinate teenagers

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that the state will offer 50 college scholarships to teenagers in the state who get their COVID-19 vaccine in the newest lottery incentive.

In the “Get a Shot to Make Your Future” initiative, parents with children ages 12 to 17 who get vaccinated can enter their child to win a four-year scholarship to a state college or university.

The 50 winners will be selected during five random drawings.

Follows: New York is following in the footsteps of Ohio, which was the first state to announce a lottery initiative for vaccinations. In Ohio, five people will win $1 million, and another five minors will be rewarded four-year scholarships.

The effort comes weeks after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved for 12- to 15-year-olds, opening up the younger population to get COVID-19 shots.

Other efforts: New York previously announced that adults who get vaccinated this week will get a free New York Lottery scratch-off ticket for the Mega Multiplier Lottery. Colorado, Maryland and Oregon have also launched cash lotteries to get more of their population vaccinated.

As vaccination rates nationwide have dropped significantly, the White House has encouraged states to be creative, whether with lotteries or other incentives, to get people vaccinated.