Biden calls on state and local governments to give $100 to each newly vaccinated American
In a speech at the White House on Thursday, President Biden asked state and local governments to give each newly vaccinated American $100 in an effort to boost vaccination rates and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Video transcript
JOE BIDEN: I'm announcing that we'll continue the work with states to encourage unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. In February, a grocery store chain, Kroger's, offered $100 to their associates if they would get vaccinated, and it worked. Vaccination rates moved up from 50% to 75% among their employees. States like New Mexico, Ohio and Colorado are offering similar incentive programs that have helped increase vaccination rates.
So today, I'm calling on all states and local governments to use funding they have received, including from the American Rescue Plan, to give $100 to anyone who gets fully vaccinated. I know that paying people to get vaccinated might sound unfair to folks who have gotten vaccinated already. But here's the deal, if incentives help us beat this virus, I believe we should use them. We all benefit if we can get more people vaccinated.
