| Paying money to get life-saving vaccines is unprecedented, the political polarization against science has escalated with at least a half dozen conspiracies.
Gov. Jim Justice says a $100 incentive for West Virginians under age 35 who get vaccinated is ready to roll.
âToday we are opening registration for our savings bond/gift card program,â Justice said during a briefing. âWeâll send you something really nice. Weâll send you a hundred dollar savings bond or a hundred dollar gift card.â
The governor has been talking about the incentive for weeks but actually putting it into operation has been an ongoing challenge.
Today he directed residents to a landing page off the governorâs official website. The incentive is for state residents between ages 16 and 35 who have received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccine.
The website provides two options for those people to choose.
One is a payment card that will be mailed once an application is approved.
The other is registration for a savings bond, which requires an online TreasuryDirect account. With the registered account from U.S. Treasury, people can proceed with the state application for the savings bond. There are instructions on the governorâs online application page.
The online application notes that processing the incentives could take four to six weeks.
For weeks, the governor has been emphasizing the importance of younger West Virginians getting vaccinated. So he first proposed the savings bonds and then, recognizing the need for flexibility, pivoted to the savings bond option.
Younger age groups have some of the smallest vaccination totals in the state.
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