Where’s the beef? In the hands of Utah’s vaccinated population.
JBS Foods is offering five pounds of free ground beef — along with an entry to win a full year’s supply of free meat — to any person who shows up to get jabbed at either of the city of Hyrum’s two COVID-19 vaccination sites, according to KUTV.
Utah is working with the Bear River Health Department and the beef processing plant in Hyrum to launch the campaign: “Your Shot at Free Meat for a Year.”
Apart from the free beef initiative, one winner from each vaccination site will receive a year’s worth of beef, pork and poultry for a family of four.
“Every COVID-19 vaccine received will help keep our team members and our community safe and healthy,” said JBS Hyrum plant manager Darren Olsen in a statement. “This sweepstakes is a great incentive to encourage everyone to come out and do their part to help put an end to the pandemic.”
The push comes as JBS seeks to see at least 5% more of its Utah staffers inoculated, bringing their rate up to 70% — on par with the the company’s overall workforce of 66,000 employees across their 84 US factories.
From private companies to government agencies and universities, many local leaders have resorted to various incentives as a way to encourage vaccine uptake among the nation’s hesitant.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is offering $100 to shot recipients at some of New York City’s vaccination sites — after Shake Shack fries and Brooklyn Nets tickets failed to lure enough residents. Meanwhile, disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York hoped free $5 million scratch-offs would work to get needles in arms.
What’s better than a free $100? Tack on another 0, said investment firm Vanguard, whose 17,300 employees could earn $1,000 for getting the jab.
Sweepstakes and lotteries have also been a popular tactic in Ohio, where some 10 recently inoculated winners received $1 million jackpots, or at Virginia-based IT firm Leidos, who gave 10 randomly selected employees a year’s salary for getting their shots. Auburn University in Alabama is dolling out prizes to help recently vaccinated students make a return to on-campus learning, including $1,000 scholarships, meal plans and parking passes.
Give a man five pounds of ground beef, and he’ll eat for a week; give him a firearm and he’ll eat for a lifetime, according to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who is motivating his constituents with the prospect of unlimited free meat — offering vaccinated winners free fishing permits, hunting rifles and shotguns, brand new pick-up trucks for hauling their kills and even a $1 million grand prize.
