The Dallas Regional Chamber announced on June 9th that North Texas residents could receive prizes for getting vaccinated against Covid-19 through the “Taking Care of Business” sweepstakes. The Chamber announced that entries would be accepted starting on June 28th. Prizes include tickets to Dallas sporting events and American Airlines tickets.
The sweepstakes is open to legal US residents 18 or older. Proof of vaccination is required for online entry but is not necessary for mail-in registration. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a live interview with NBC on June 7 that there are no statewide plans for a lottery or sweepstakes.
“As it comes to using something like what you’ve seen in other states, like a lottery for vaccines or some kind of monetary inducement or anything like that, we don’t believe in using monetary inducements in the state of Texas,” said Abbot in the interview. Chamber officials hope that he is wrong as they kick off efforts to increase vaccinations by 10 percent.
A public service announcement campaign kicked off on June 23rd to let residents know about the sweepstakes. The goal of the sweepstakes is to encourage residents to get the vaccine. Currently, North Texas lags behind national averages for vaccinations, particularly in communities of color.
Only California has delivered more doses of the vaccine than Texas, yet some parts of the state are behind. Many counties in South Texas are reporting more than 60 percent of the population having received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Counties in the DFW area have higher vaccination rates than counties in the panhandle and along the Louisiana border that range from 20 to 30 percent vaccination. Dallas County reports 48 percent of eligible residents having received one dose while only 41 percent are fully vaccinated. Tarrant County offers similar numbers at 46 percent with one dose and 40 percent being fully vaccinated.
The Chamber believes this is the appropriate time to encourage residents to get vaccinated. Vaccination rates in recent weeks have slowed, and County Administrators fear that if too few residents get the vaccine, new variants of the virus may cause spikes in cases.
Officials hope to fully vaccinate 70 percent of the state by the end of summer. In the DFW region, this would mean an additional 600,000 doses administered. Dallas County reports administering 2.2 million doses, while Tarrant County claims that 1.7 million have been given. Denton and Collin Counties account for another 2 million doses so far.
The campaign is being cast as a way Texans can support local businesses by helping to prevent further shutdowns. The Chamber of Commerce reports that 1 in 3 Dallas and Ft. Worth small businesses have not reopened since being forced to close during the pandemic.
“Getting the vaccine is about protecting yourself, but that’s not all it’s about. It’s also about protecting the employees of every North Texas business so they can fully reopen and get back to the life they deserve, and that’s everyone’s business,” said Dale Petroskey, President and CEO of the Dallas Chamber in a news release.
Prizes include tickets to Dallas Stars, Rangers, FC, Mavericks, and Cowboys games, airline tickets through American Airlines, passes to Six Flags over Texas, and autographed sports memorabilia. Drawings will be random and will be held in July and August.
