The state says nearly 900 employees have taken advantage of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's $100 vaccine incentive offer since he rolled it out last month.
Melissa Vince is a spokesperson for the Department of Administrative Services. She says the agency received more than 10,000 emails from employees expressing interest. So far 882 employee $100 incentives have been processed and 218 $25 incentives for employees' spouses.
The state has about 50,000 employees but maintains no record of how many are vaccinated. The governor announced the incentive last month in hopes of boosting the state's stagnating vaccination rate.
DeWine's office has told every health department in Ohio that the state will be there if they want to try their own incentive program.
In Columbus, a similar $100 incentive program for residents launched last month resulted in a 288% increase in vaccinations in the program’s first week after weeks of declining numbers, according to Columbus health department spokesperson Kelli Newman. Subsequent weeks also saw increases, though smaller, with figures holding steady since.
