A $14 billion IT company is enticing staff to get vaccinated with the chance to win a full year's salary

covid vaccine — Leidos Inc,. is giving away one year's salary to 10 random employees, as an incentive for more workers to get vaccinated.
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Leidos is splitting $1 million between 10 random employees as an incentive to get vaccinated.
Each employee that is selected will receive enough cash to equal one year's pay.
The US is just below the 50% vaccination mark, with 47.9% of Americans being fully vaccinated,
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Leidos, a major government IT contractor, is joining the vaccination push.

The $14 billion company, which is based in Virginia, plans to split $1 million between 10 random employees out of the company's 40,000 global workers as an incentive to get vaccinated, The Washington Post reported.

Each employee selected will receive enough cash to equal one year's pay. Managers are not eligible.

"In the end, in a time of crisis, what people are about is providing safety, health and security for their family," CEO Roger Krone told The Washington Post. "I can't wait to celebrate our first few winners."

New York, Maryland, Kentucky, and Ohio have all offered cash prizes for fully vaccinated Americans. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a free scratch-off lottery ticket (worth $20) for a chance to win $5 million.

President Joe Biden aimed to have 70% of the US vaccinated by the Fourth of July, but that goal has fallen short. 331 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, but only 147 million Americans are fully vaccinated. Bringing the US just below the 50% vaccination mark, with47.9% of Americans being fully vaccinated.

"Our company, like the country at large, has seen a bit of a slowdown in the number of people actually getting the vaccine," Krone told The Post. "We see a huge need to gently push people who are on the fence, and give them one more reason to do it."

Leidos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many economists agree: lotteries may be the encouragement needed to get holdouts vaccinated.

Employers can legally require employees to get vaccinated before returning to work, Insider previously reported. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers have the right to ban employees who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine from returning to the workplace.

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