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NATION/WORLD Tuesday, May 18, 2021 THe OBseRVeR — 7A Ohio offers $1 million weekly prize as vaccine incentive By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has made many news- worthy statements in his long political career, but perhaps none has gener- ated such an immediate and intense response as announcing a weekly $1 million prize and full-ride college scholarships to entice more Ohioans to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The plan the Republican governor unveiled May 12 drew criticism from some Democratic and GOP law- makers who said it isn’t appropriate to use fed- eral pandemic dollars for a contest. But Andy Slavitt, President Joe Biden’s senior COVID-19 adviser, said anything that draws attention to vaccines is a good thing. “In general, I think we like the idea of contests,” Slavitt told CNN. DeWine says he under- stands people may think he’s crazy and consider the concept a waste of money. But he said Wednesday the real waste is a loss of life to the virus now that the vaccine is available. Beginning May 26, the lottery will provide Phil Long/Associated Press, File Kent state university student Regan Raeth, of Hudson, Ohio, looks at her vaccination bandage as she waits for 15 minutes after her shot april 8, 2021, in Kent, Ohio. Ohio Gov. Mike deWine on Wednesday, May 12, announced a weekly $1 million prize and full-ride college scholarships to entice more Ohioans to get the COVId-19 vaccine. a $1 million prize each Wednesday for five weeks. How will the Ohio vac- cine incentive work? DeWine said details are still being ironed out, but in short, Ohioans age 18 and older who have received at least one dose of the vaccine can get into the drawing one of two ways. Those who are reg- istered voters in the Sec- retary of State’s database will be entered automat- ically. A website will be available for people to enter if they’re not in the elections system. Each week, names of potential winners will be drawn and their eligibility verified, including whether they’ve been vaccinated, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said. Then their names will be announced during the Ohio Lottery Wednesday evening broad- cast, he said. Vaccinated Ohioans under 18 will be entered into a similar drawing for full college scholarships, including tuition and room and board. The state Health Department will admin- ister the drawings with help from the Ohio Lottery Commission. Winners will pay taxes. The money will come from the Health Depart- ment’s unspent corona- virus relief funds. Ohio already distributed $5.9 billion in federal pan- demic funds, and is now in line to receive nearly $5.4 billion in aid from Biden’s $1.9 trillion coro- navirus relief package, amounts dwarfing the lot- tery payouts. Can the prize work to boost vaccinations? The lottery is unlikely to change the minds of those who question the vaccine’s safety or are adamantly against get- ting the shot, said Jane Risen, a behavioral sci- ence professor at the Uni- versity of Chicago who studies judgment and decision-making. But for those who are worried about side effects or don’t want to take time off work, a $1 million prize could be persuasive, she said. “We know people pay attention to lotteries and big prizes,” she said. “Even though the chances are small, people focus on the prize rather than the prob- ability of winning.” There’s also the fear of missing out, Risen said. “When we get into these giant jackpots, you see people who would never buy a lottery ticket buying them,” she said. What do lawmakers think of the vaccine incentives? In the past year, DeWine faced intense crit- icism from members of his own party over Ohio’s con- tinued health orders. While they welcomed the tandem news Wednesday that the state’s mask mandate and other orders would end June 2, they also expressed skepticism at the lottery announcement. “I do not support using gameshow gimmicks with our federal tax dollars,” said Rep. Jon Cross, a Republican from Kenton in northern Ohio. On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron, the top House Democrat, questioned the use of federal funds for the lottery. “Using millions of dol- lars in relief funds in a drawing is a grave misuse of money that could be going to respond to this ongoing crisis,” she said. In Washington, Biden press secretary Jen Psaki said: “The Department of Treasury has comprehen- sive guidelines, but does not typically opine on each individual program or creative approach by different states.” CDC says mask turnaround based on science By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press WASHINGTON — The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday, May 16, defended the decision to ease mask- wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, stressing that increasing political pressure had nothing to do with the abrupt shift in guidelines. “I’m delivering the science as the science is delivered to the medical journals. And it evolved,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on FOX News Sunday. “I deliver it as soon as I can when we have that information available.” Under the new guide- lines released last week, fully vaccinated people — those who are two weeks past their final dose of a COVID-19 vac- cine — can quit wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor set- tings and give up social distancing. However, partially vaccinated or unvacci- nated people should con- tinue wearing masks, the agency said. The guid- ance also still calls for masks in crowded indoor settings including buses, airplanes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters. The sudden change sparked praise from those eager to return to pre-pandemic life, partic- ularly those who see the new guidelines as a way to reopen workplaces, schools and other venues that went dark during the pandemic. Yet concerns have been raised from those who say there’s no easy way for businesses and others to determine who is fully vaccinated and who is not. Instead, many will have to rely on an honor system as many states and communities have already been lifting mask mandates amid improving virus numbers and as more Americans have been shedding face coverings after getting shots. “I would imagine within a period of just a Khalil Hamra/Associated Press Palestinians rescue a survivor from under the rubble of a destroyed res- idential building following deadly Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, sunday, May 16, 2021. The Israeli airstrikes flattened three buildings and killed at least 26 people May 16, medics said, making it the deadliest single attack since heavy fighting broke out between Israel and the territory’s militant Hamas rulers nearly a week ago. Israeli strikes hit Gaza tunnels Attacks have killed at least 200 Palestinians, wounded 1,300 people By FARES AKRAM and JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military unleashed a wave of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early Monday, May 17, saying it destroyed 9 miles of militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas com- manders, as international diplomats worked to end the weeklong war that has killed hundreds of people. The latest attacks killed a top Gaza leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group whom the Israeli military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days. Israel has said it intends to press on for now with its attacks against Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the United States signaled it would not pres- sure the two sides for a cease-fire. At least 200 Palestin- ians have been killed in the strikes, including 59 chil- dren and 35 women, with 1,300 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Eight people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel. Violence also erupted between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, leaving scores of people injured. On May 17, an Israeli man attacked last week by a group of Arab citizens in the cen- tral city of Lod died of his wounds, according to police. The overnight air- strikes in Gaza on May 17 hollowed out one floor of a multistory con- crete building. A woman picked through clothing, rubble and splintered fur- niture in a room that had been destroyed. One strike demolished the wall of one room, leaving untouched an open cabinet filled with bedding inside. Children walked over debris in the road. 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Just days earlier, Walensky had defended the agen- cy’s strict mask guid- ance in front of a Senate committee where some Republicans on the panel described the CDC’s guidance as “unworkable.” When pressed about the quick turnaround on the agency’s stance on mask wearing, Walensky said the agency was not La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR 975-2000 www.lagrandeautorepair.com MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE Joe Horst ACDelcoTSS 156 million Americans, or more than 47% of the population, have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 121 million are fully vaccinated. Walensky cautioned that even with the new guidelines, it was still too early to “declare victory,” but added that she was “cautiously optimistic” about the pandemic. giving in to pressure but instead needed time to review evolving science. “I can tell you it cer- tainly would have been easier if the science had evolved a week earlier and I didn’t have to go to Con- gress making those state- ments. 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