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Comment by defen | Hacker News Reader

I think this is a good idea, but $5,000 to 1,000 people would probably be even better.

If your incentive is distribution of the money, potentially yes. But like a real lottery I think this is about taking advantage of people's low statistical knowledge banking on hitting it big. I quite like it

It's a good, hilariously ironic, and slightly sad idea. People are afraid of taking a vaccine because they don't understand the statistically minuscule possibility of serious side-effects? Give them a statistically minuscule positive incentive to balance it out!

The people who really distrust the vaccine will just think, "Gee, the same government that manipulated everyone into thinking they were all going to die is now manipulating them into thinking they'll win the lottery." This won't convince them, but it might appeal to the sense of greed of the ones who are just lazy and don't like mild side-effects.

Those folks are unreachable anyway.

I agree. Maybe take it even further and just give $1k outright to everyone who gets vaccinated (or has already been vaccinated). It would even double as an economic stimulus and hardly cost more than previous stimulus rounds.

The country has already suffered enormous financial loss thanks to investments in tracking, emergency medical support, vaccine development and distribution, and economic stimulus. That's on top of the massive economic damage suffered by lockdown, stay-home campaigns, and ongoing restrictions. A $1k payout per citizen for getting vaccinated would be a drop in the bucket by comparison - especially if it means finishing off the pandemic.

EDIT: Is anyone downvoting willing to explain why? I'm genuinely curious.

Best idea so far. Make a calculation how much they would cost to take care of in case they got Covid, give 80% of that directly to them if they get vaccinated. It's almost like investing in your own people.

That wouldn't work, as the vast majority of people cost $0 to care for if they get COVID.

In the short term, perhaps, in the long term it's looking not so rosy, even for the apparently asymptomatic.

quarantine is definitely more expensive than $0, unless their time is worthless

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