Hawai‘i residents vaccinated against COVID-19 have until midnight today to enter for a chance to win one of 83 prizes in the #HIGotVaccinated campaign.
Winners will be drawn on July 1.
State and community health leaders announced at a press conference Tuesday the extension of the campaign after a large number of residents got their shots.
The second round of the campaign will include cash prizes, including three of $5,000, sponsored by American Savings Bank.
“Nearly 95% of our teammates are either fully vaccinated or in the process of becoming fully vaccinated,” said Michelle Bartell, ASB director of community advancement.
“And we’re really proud of that, because we have over 1,100 teammates on five different islands. We’re very proud of their commitment to getting vaccinated to help us all get back to where we want to be.
“We also recently gave three $5,000 prizes to our ASB teammates who completed their vaccinations. And they were so ecstatic that we decided we wanted to go ahead and offer this opportunity to the #HIGotVaccinated folks who sign up,” Bartell said.
According to Patrick Bullard of H&B Marketing, residents have a chance to enter in the second round that runs July 12 to Aug. 20.
Prior to the #HIGotVaccinated campaign, the average number of new weekly vaccinations was on the decline.
Based on the observed rate of a 20% weekly decline in statewide vaccination rates in the weeks leading up to the campaign, the state Department of Health created a model predicting the number of vaccinations that would have been expected for these trends.
Under this model, the incentives campaign and promotions contributed to a 30% increase in vaccinations over what was predicted. To date, the HIGotVaccinated.com page has had more than 1,284,000 views, and more than 240,000 people have registered for the chance to win prizes. Sixty-one percent of site visitors represent the 18-to-34 age group.
“It is important we vaccinate a greater percentage of the state’s population,” Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i said. “No one thing is going to get the job done. However, continued vaccine education, outreach and easy access to vaccines, coupled with attractive incentives, will keep us moving in the right direction.”
Individuals 18 and older who registered at HIGotVaccinated.com in June will be automatically entered to win in July.
•••
Stephanie Shinno, education and business reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
