The US Treasury allowed tribal governments to use COVID relief funds for financial incentives for vaccination. But that\u2019s provided \u201csuch costs are reasonably proportional to the expected public health benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some Seminoles argue they weren\u2019t. The matter has sparked friction among the tribe, which is one of the wealthiest Native American gaming operators in the US and owns the Hard Rock casino brand.<\/p>\n
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The controversial lottery was one of several issues mentioned in a recall petition that aimed, and failed, to topple incumbent Tribal Council Chairman Marcellus Osceola last month.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe petition was signed by 285 members, above the necessary quota of 20% of voters who backed Osceola at his 2019 reelection. It was authored by tribal member Laura Billie, who called the use of the funds \u201cimproper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Incendiary Claim<\/strong><\/h2>\nShe also makes the incendiary \u2013 and, according to Osceola, false \u2013 claim that \u201ctribal members also have knowledge that the Chairman\u2019s illegitimate son, who is a minor, was the [first prize] million-dollar winner.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a Tribal Council meeting last month, Osceola denied any impropriety and emphasized that the decision to hold the lottery had been taken by the entire tribal council, not just himself. That\u2019s in a transcript seen by the Bulldog.<\/em><\/p>\nOf the latter allegation, he said: \u201c[\u2026the] false claim of a million-dollar winner being my illegitimate son, you know, that has repercussions, those allegations, because, you know, again, defamation of character, slander. People get sued for a lot less.\u201d<\/p>\n
All in Vein?<\/strong><\/h2>\nResearch published by the University of Denver, admittedly a week after the Seminoles held their draw, suggested that vaccine lotteries don\u2019t really work.<\/p>\n
Looking at 19 states that employed the tactic, researchers calculated the number of shots administered per 1,000 people, both before and after the lotteries were introduced.<\/p>\n
Then they compared the figures to those states with no vaccine lotteries. Adjusting for a variety of factors, such as a region\u2019s wealth, population, the number of COVID-19 cases, and political leanings, they found \u201cno statistically significant\u201d difference to vaccination uptake between states with and without vaccine lotteries.<\/p>\n
Researchers speculated that the lack of a guaranteed outcome in a lottery draw might fail to motivate people, and suggested direct payments would be more effective. They also wondered whether the funds might be better spent on programs that educated people about vaccination and countered misinformation.<\/p>\n
Anonymity Crucial for Health Reasons<\/h2>\n
This was a route taken by many other tribal governments that opted to spread payments more thinly, rewarding all vaccinated members, not just a lucky few. It\u2019s a tactic that Billie supports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way I see this is the COVID funds are to benefit the people \u2026 In this case, they used the money for a lottery, and a lot of the people did not benefit from that lottery, more than 80%,\u201d she told the Bulldog.<\/em><\/p>\nIn a statement, the Seminole Tribal Council said: \u201cIt was documented that many Native Americans were vaccine-hesitant, and unvaccinated Seminoles of all ages were getting sick and dying.<\/p>\n
Winners were chosen at random via computer-selected names of all vaccinated members.\u00a0 To ensure a fair outcome, one non-Tribe staff member from the Tribe\u2019s Health, IT and Police Departments were the only individuals present at the time of the drawing.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u201cThe selected names were not made public due to privacy requirements for all health records. [\u2026]\u00a0It is impossible to know how many lives were saved. Any suggestion of impropriety in any aspect of the program is absolutely not true.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On October 5, 2021, the Seminole Tribe of Florida held a vaccine lottery. The draw awarded at least $3 million in federal COVID relief money in prizes as an incentive for tribal members to get the shot. But some critics within the tribe have questioned whether the money was misused, and claim that that many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":246493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,18456],"tags":[13701,82085,84007],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Seminole Tribe of Florida Denies Impropriety in $3M Vaccine Lottery<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n