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A new health study shows COVID-19 vaccination lottery programs, such as Louisiana’s “Shot At a Million,” produced negligible results despite millions in taxpayer-funded giveaways.
Published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the study examined vaccination rates across the 19 states that announced vaccine lotteries by July 1 and compared them with states that did not have vaccine lotteries.
Researchers used state-level COVID-19 vaccination data from Johns Hopkins University between April 28 and July 1, a period when vaccines were widely available and news reports were promoting the incentive programs.
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Louisiana’s $2.3 million lottery program June 17.
While controlling for various factors, the study concluded the association between COVID-19 lotteries and vaccination rates “were very small in magnitude and statistically indistinguishable from zero.”
“No statistically significant association was detected between a cash-drawing announcement and the number of vaccinations before or after the announcement date, a period that included announcements of lottery winners for most lottery states,” study authors said.
An earlier study from July 2 that examined Ohio’s “Vax-a-Million” lottery, the first in the nation, determined such programs likely would not increase “vaccine uptake.”
“Therefore, the resources devoted to vaccine lotteries may be more successfully invested in programs that target underlying reasons for vaccine hesitancy and low vaccine uptake,” said Allan J. Walkey, a physician at Boston Medical Center and a professor of medicine.
“It is important to rigorously evaluate strategies designed to increase vaccine uptake, rapidly deploy successful strategies, and phase out those that do not work,” Walkey said.
Louisiana’s “Shot At a Million” program awarded $100,000 a week from July 14 to Aug. 4, nine $100,000 scholarships for children age 12-17 and a grand prize of $1 million Aug. 6.
A week after the grand prize drawing, a separate $7.5 million vaccine incentive program called “Shot for 100” was announced. The initiative offered college students $100 for their first vaccine dose.
“Shot for 100” was expanded earlier this month to include any vaccine eligible resident of Louisiana. It’s scheduled to end on Saturday.

The first paid advertisements of the redistricting cycle, purchased specifically to influence how state legislators will draw an election district next year, have surfaced in the Acadiana region.
The political engagement was expected eventually, but seeing it so soon serves as healthy dose of foreshadowing — because this is definitely only the beginning.
The Legislature will gather in early February for its decennial redistricting session, but a statewide public testimony tour is already underway and special interests are slowly revealing their own reapportionment plans.
While the ads are specific to the region encompassing Iberia, Lafayette and St. Martin parishes, the drama and politics involved will eventually be duplicated in election districts all over the state.
After all, redistricting is an intimate affair capable of yielding strange bedfellows and deep political fault lines. No politics will be too local or too petty for the special redistricting session that convenes in roughly 100 days.
The Acadiana ad campaign was largely overshadowed last week by the Redistricting Roadshow’s swing through north Louisiana, which included public hearings conducted by lawmakers in Monroe and Shreveport.
The related chatter, however, was unmissable in Iberia Parish, where politics rivals sugar cane as a chief export.
Former Sen. Troy Hebert paid for the ad that has been running in The Teche News and The Daily Iberian. The advertisement claims a plan has been hatched by “the powers that be” to reconfigure the local Senate District 22 in such a way that condenses power in Lafayette Parish at a cost to St. Martin and Iberia parishes. “Under this new district,” the ad continues, “the Senator will either come from Lafayette Parish or be beholden to Lafayette Parish.”
Hebert, who’s expected to run in Senate District 22 in 2023, said he was attempting to drum up inter-est in this week’s Redistricting Roadshow meeting that’s scheduled for Lafayette.
That’s when members of the House and Senate governmental affairs committee will hear from residents on this matter.
“Look, we enjoy our neighbors in Lafayette, but their blood might be a little too blue for us to share our senator with,” Hebert said in an interview.
“Lafayette already has two senators, trying to steal ours seems a bit greedy. Them big city boys need to learn, pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered.”
Sen. Fred Mills, who’s term-limited from running again in Senate District 22, said he will continue his pledge in the upcoming special session to protect the district from any major disruptions.
“Senate District 22 has a long and rich tradition of representing Iberia and St. Martin parishes,” said Mills, “and I look forward to seeing that tradition continue.”
Hebert noted in his interview that it’s almost impossible not to make this issue personal, since shifting the district’s base to Lafayette would clearly benefit incumbent representatives in Lafayette and disadvantage elected officials in Iberia and St. Martin parishes. Other politicos working on plans in other election districts are discovering the same — the process gets personal quickly.
On the other side of the state last week, citizens in Monroe and Shreveport got the opportunity to weigh in with their concerns.
What to do about north Louisiana’s two congressional districts was a topic of interest. Population losses will require significant adjustments and some have proposed turn-ing the side-by-side vertical districts into horizontal districts that would run west to east from border to border.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, along with other civil rights groups, is also push-ing to turn the 5th Congressional District, now based in northeast Louisiana and represented by a Republican, into a minority voting bloc.
Proponents argue that only one of Louisiana’s six U.S. House districts is represented by a black official, despite the state’s population being a third black.
At the Shreveport public meeting, more concerns were voiced about legislative seats. In northwest Louisiana, there are roughly a dozen legislative seats with significantly low population counts and there could be noticeable losses there on both the House and the Senate sides.
There’s still plenty of time for the public to chime in on redistricting.
But with each passing day, the noise citizens will have to shout over will only grow louder — and, based on ads already surfacing and the intensity of the issues being aired, the cacophony will only grow bolder as well.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow.

CENTERVILLE -- The St. Mary Parish School Board voted Thursday to appoint Tammie Moore of the Four Corners area to fill a vacant seat on the board.

Moore will fill the seat left open by the Oct. 8 death of member Sylvia Kay Lockett, who had represented District 2 since 2019.

Moore is a campus director for South Louisiana Community College. She will serve until a special election can be held to fill Lockett's position until January 2023, when her term would have expired.

The board voted Thursday night to call the special election for March 26. If needed, the runoff would be April 30.

Moore's reaction to the appointment via Facebook:

"I’m so grateful, humbled and excited about this appointment! I can say without a doubt, that on my list of greatest passions are people and education! Amazingly, in this capacity, I get to advocate for both! I look forward to this assignment and what it will bring to the St. Mary Parish School System, the students, and families directly impacted. God and the St. Mary Parish School Board have trusted me with this assignment and my plan is to make them proud!"

(Editor’s note: The charges listed here and the narratives that go with them are provided by the police agencies that made the arrests. Guilt or innocence has not been determined in court.)

Morgan City police arrests Wednesday included charges of heroin and cocaine possession as well as trying to slip tobacco products into the city jail, police reports say.

Morgan City
Police Chief James F. Blair reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 37 calls for service within the last 24-hour reporting period and made these arrests:
—Rodney Hayes, 37, Federal Avenue, Morgan City, was arrested at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday on charges of introduction of contraband into a penal facility, possession of marijuana (first offense), possession of drug paraphernalia and illegally supplying an inmate with tobacco products.
—Quentin Cooper, 31, Poncio Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of illegally supplying an inmate with tobacco products.
—Craig O’Neal Robinson, 33, First Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of possession of tobacco products by an inmate.
—Fred Purnell Kenner, 35, Grace Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer; on warrants alleging home invasion and entry or remaining where forbidden; and on 6th Ward Morgan City Court warrants alleging six counts of failure to appear to pay fine Aug. 3 and six counts of failure to appear to pay fine June 29.
—Samantha Marie Corbin, 28, Lake Long Drive, Houma, was arrested at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday on charges of driving under suspension and speeding 65 mph in a 50 mph zone (construction zone).
—Heather Marie Theriot, 44, First Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 2:42 p.m. Wednesday on a 6th Ward Morgan City Court warrant alleging failure to appear to pay fine Jan. 12.
—Shuna Robertson, 31, 11th Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 4:09 p.m. Wednesday on charges of theft under $1,000 and tampering with electronic monitoring equipment.
—Haven Wiggins, 20, Sacred Heart Drive, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday on a 6th Ward Morgan City Court warrant alleging four counts of failure to appear to pay fine Feb. 23.

St. Mary
Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith advised that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 42 complaints and made these arrests:
—Jody Ray Cubbedge Sr., 63, Morgan City, was arrested, at 5:51 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant alleging possession of Schedule II drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail has not been set.
—Jamarlon Jakell Smith, 25, Franklin, was arrested at 8:22 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of possession of marijuana. Smith was released on a summons to appear Jan. 4.

Franklin
Chief Morris Beverly said the Franklin Police Department responded to 11 complaints over the past 24 hours and made this arrest:
—Tony Johnson, 52, Iberia Steet, Franklin, was arrested at 11:20 a.m. Wednesday on a warrant dated Oct. 26 alleging sexual battery and disturbing the peace (obscene language). Johnson was booked, processed and held on an $18,500 bond.