After Governor Jim Justice said West Virginia “bumped into a wall” with COVID-19 vaccinations, he found a creative way to trick people into getting the shot: $ 100 savings bonds for everyone in between Offering 16 and 35 years of age uses money his state received from the federal government’s pandemic aid fund to offer the savings bonds that are paid retrospectively to young people who have already received the shot.
Justice told Yahoo Finance Live the savings bond offering was a “patriotic move” and something West Virginia must do to fully vaccinate 70% of the state. So far, the governor said 42% of the state’s population are fully vaccinated and 53% have received a first dose.
He said the incentive made fiscal sense as it would cost about $ 27.5 million to offer the savings bonds, compared to the $ 75 million West Virginia spent last year to help people out on COVID- 19 to test and retest.
West Virginia Democratic Governor Jim Justice speaks with United States President Donald Trump during a rally announcing he will change parties on August 3, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. REUTERS / Carlos Barria
Justice told Yahoo Finance that the setback in Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine had also helped slow down vaccinations. Production of this vaccine was temporarily stopped after a small number of people receiving the vaccine had blood clots. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that the benefits of the J&J vaccine outweighed the risks and allowed the vaccine to continue to be administered.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 144,894,586 Americans (43.6%) have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 101,407,318 (30.5%) have been fully vaccinated as of April 29.
Justice is a long-time supporter of former President Donald Trump, saying “it would be difficult for him not to support Trump if he ran again in 2024, but added that it was also important for the country to have President Biden” behind Biden set out to deliver 200 million COVID-19 vaccines in his first 100 days in office – one that the president has achieved.
Alexis Christoforous is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @AlexisTVNews.
