Governor Tim Walz Announces Vaccination Incentives For Minnesotans

Governor Tim Walz has announced incentives for Minnesotans to encourage more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the press release, 100,000 Minnesotans that get vaccinated between Memorial Day weekend and June 30 will be eligible to pick from several incentives.

Those perks include a person's choice of free state park passes, free fishing licenses, or state fair tickets. The incentives have been introduced to encourage more people to get vaccinated to reach the 70% goal the governor has put in place for the state.

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Earlier this week the State of Minnesota announced that 2.5 million Minnesotans were fully vaccinated. 64% of Minnesotans 16+ have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Eligible people who are fully vaccinated is at 57%.  With the vaccinations, cases of COVID-19 cases have plummeted in the state. New cases have dropped by 49%, which is one of the fastest declines in the United States.

Governor Walz will announce more of the incentives in more detail on Thursday in what he's calling "Your Shot To Summer" campaign. Other states have offered incentives as well such as lotteries, prizes, and similar programs to Minnesota. There also have been pro sports games in Minnesota that have offered vaccines to fans as part of the "Roll Up Your Sleeves Campaign." The next two games offering vaccines are at the Lynx game on June 12 and the United Soccer game on June 23, according to Kare11.

Countrywide, the CDC reports that 61% of eligible people have received at least one vaccine. There have been nearly 33 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S. with 588,421 deaths. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesota has had 600,000 cases and 7,486 deaths.