West Virginia is offering a $100 savings bond to residents ages 16 to 35 who receive a COVID-19 vaccination, Gov. Jim Justice said April 26.
The state is using funds made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act for the incentive. West Virginians who have already been vaccinated will also receive a $100 savings bond.
"Our kids today probably don't really realize just how important they are in shutting this thing down," Mr. Justice said in a news release. "I'm trying to come up with a way that’s truly going to motivate them — and us — to get over the hump."
As of 6 a.m. EDT April 27, a total of 521,809 West Virginians had been fully vaccinated, or 29.1 percent of the state's population, according to the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker.
As of April 28, more than 52 percent of the 1,474,615 West Virginians who are eligible to receive a vaccine have received at least one dose, while 41.2 percent have been fully vaccinated, according to state data.
Mr. Justice said his goal is for more than 70 percent of his state's eligible population to get vaccinated.