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In the latest and most extraordinary effort yet to boost California’s flagging COVID-19 vaccination rates, state officials on Thursday announced what appears to be the largest inoculation incentive in the nation: the chance for 10 residents to win $1.5 million apiece. The goal of the multimillion-dollar giveaway is simple: Give residents every possible motivation to finally roll up their sleeves as the state’s vaccine rollout enters its crucial next phase. Those prizes — along with 30 additional awards of $50,000 each — are open to Californians who have gotten at least one dose. Those who have previously received their shots will be entered into the drawings automatically, and there is no need to register, according to state officials. (Money and Lin II, 5/27)

The goal is to motivate roughly 12 million people who are eligible but not yet vaccinated, though the more than 20 million Californians already partially or fully vaccinated also are in the running for the most valuable prizes. “We’re putting aside more resources than any other state in America, and we’re making available the largest prizes of any state in America for those that seek to get vaccinated,” Newsom announced at an East Los Angeles high school where people were being vaccinated in the gymnasium. (Melley and Ronayne, 5/28)

The first 100,000 Minnesotans who get vaccinated against the coronavirus between Memorial Day weekend and the end of June will be eligible for free state parks passes, free fishing licenses or other rewards, Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced Thursday. The incentives are part of the state's effort to increase vaccinations. 61% of Minnesotans 12 years and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but the pace of doses administered daily has slowed since its peak in April, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. (Knutson, 5/27)

West Virginia will step up its prizes for vaccines, enrolling all residents who have received a coronavirus shot into a lottery for the chance to win a college scholarship, an F-150 pickup truck or cash rewards. Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced the plan for the new incentives Thursday, but more details are expected to be finalized next week. The governor has aimed to turn around a vaccination drive that drastically slowed down after a strong early start. (5/28)

A leader in the Central American community in Phoenix says local groups are banding together to ensure more hard-to-reach migrants are vaccinated against COVID-19 as Arizona struggles to improve its inoculation rates. “I have been very worried about our people because many of them have not wanted to be vaccinated,” the Rev. Antonio Velazquez, an evangelical pastor originally from Guatemala, said Thursday. The push to vaccinate at least 5,000 migrants from Central America and Mexico begins Sunday at a Spanish-language church in central-west Phoenix, Velasquez said. (Snow, 5/27)

Since protection against a potentially deadly virus isn't enough incentive for some to get the COVID-19 vaccine, companies have begun offering everything from date nights to tropical vacations to coax Americans to get the shot. The giveaways are just the latest examples of increasingly lucrative rewards, including Ohio's $1 million lottery prizes, aimed at luring the hesitant. (Reed, 5/28)

Kroger will give $1 million to five customers and free groceries for a year to another 50 to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the nation's biggest grocery chain said Thursday. The move has Kroger joining a national effort to get more Americans immunized and derail a pandemic behind the deaths of more than 593,000 Americans. Details of the Kroger Health campaign will come next week, and follows a collaboration with the Biden administration to push toward a target of having at least 70% of U.S. adults given their first vaccine dose by July 10, the company said. That target could be hard to reach amid hesitancy by a sizable chunk of the population. (Gibson, 5/27)

The Portland Trail Blazers are giving fans another reason to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Blazers announced they’re encouraging fans to get the COVID-19 vaccine with prizes at locations throughout Portland. Fans who attend one of the team’s vaccination clinics, which are hosted by Multnomah Country’s REACH program and Oregon Health & Science University, and get their first doses will have a chance to receive prized Trail Blazers items, such as shirts, posters and even tickets to a 2021-22 preseason game. (Yohannes, 5/27)