President Joe Biden on Thursday urged state and local governments to offer $100 cash payments to those who agree to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The recommendation — along with new mandates on federal workers and contractors to get vaccinated or face regular testing — comes as the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread.
But Gov. Phil Scott, at least, is not all about the Benjamins. The Republican governor said through a spokesperson Friday that Vermont is unlikely to dole out cash incentives to those getting vaccinated.
“Given our nation-leading vaccination efforts, Vermont has no plans to implement the proposal at this time,” said Jason Maulucci, Scott’s press secretary. “We will continue to pursue our strategy to make vaccines as accessible as possible, bringing them directly to the people.”
Maulucci pointed to Vermont’s vaccination rate of nearly 84% of the eligible population and said the state had become “a global model.”
Ben Truman, a spokesperson for the Vermont Department of Health, said the state would instead continue to expand access to the vaccine.
“Our focus is on providing plenty of options so that it’s almost impossible to not get your vaccination — meeting people where they are, with opportunities that make getting vaccinated fit seamlessly into their day,” Truman said.
Though some research has suggested that cash payments could effectively incentivize vaccination, other findings contradict that conclusion.
Iwan Barankay, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, has studied how monetary incentives shape health behavior. He doesn’t buy Biden’s proposal.
“Financial incentives are not effective on health outcomes,” Barankay said. “The people who choose to do healthy things like get vaccinations or take medications are people who already responded to the incentive of staying healthy and surviving, which is very very powerful.”
Barankay said that states should instead focus on working with unvaccinated people to help them access vaccines.
“There is a whole group of people who are amenable to getting vaccinated but just cannot fit it into their lives,” said Barankay. “They face barriers that we should not trivialize, like how do I get there? Where do I put my children? How do I fit it into my schedule?”