At his press briefing on Monday evening, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice encouraged all young residents between the ages of 16 to 35 years of age to sign up immediately to get vaccinated for COVID-19, offering them a very sweet incentive – A $100 savings bond for their effort, reports The Hill.
The governor’s decision to issue the savings bonds is retroactive, according to the governor’s office, meaning all West Virginians age 16 to 35 who have already been vaccinated will also receive a $100 savings bond.
Today I announced that West Virginia will now offer a $100 savings bond to residents age 16 to 35 who choose to get vaccinated.
Read more from today’s press briefing ⬇️April 26, 2021
“Every single one of our young people — we’re going to give a $100 savings bond to every single one that steps up and takes their vaccines,” Justice said, adding the vaccinating younger residents will move the state forward in its fight against COVID-19.
“They’re not taking vaccines as fast as we’d like them to take them,” Justice said. “If we really want to move the needle, we’ve got to get our younger people vaccinated.”
West Virginia will be using funds from the state’s CARES Act fund, a plan the governor said was properly vetted. The CARES Act sent about $150 billion to state governments, which have until the end of 2021 to use the funding, CNN reported.
Governor Justice went on to say that the goal is to get over 70 percent of West Virginia’s eligible population vaccinated. Of the 1.47 million West Virginians who are currently eligible, just 52 percent have received at least one dose to date, with demand for vaccines dipping in recent weeks.
