Vaccinated residents could win season tickets to Dodgers, Los Angeles Football Club

Vaccinated Los Angeles County residents will now get the chance to win season tickets to the Dodgers or Los Angeles Football Club as the county continues to offer incentives to urge people to get vaccinated.

Through Thursday, at all county-run vaccination sites, city sites and St. John's Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older getting their first COVID-19 vaccine will have an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the 2021-2022 home season of either the LA Kings or the LA Galaxy.

Two residents will be awarded prizes. The contest is also open to anyone receiving a second dose who brings another person with them to be vaccinated.

RELATED: LA County: Get vaccine at select sites for chance to win Lakers season tickets

Beginning Friday and continuing until next Thursday, season tickets will be up for grabs for the Dodgers or the Los Angeles Football Club.

The state of California, meanwhile, is offering financial motivation to encourage people to get vaccinated. On Friday, the state will hold the first of two planned drawings, awarding $50,000 in cash to 15 people who have been vaccinated. A second drawing will be held June 11 to pick another 15 winners. On June 15, the date the state is scheduled to lift the majority of its COVID- 19 restrictions, the state will draw the names of 10 vaccinated residents, each of whom will receive $1.5 million.

LA County Public Health Director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer stressed again, however, that while incentives are helpful, increasing vaccination rates will require better access to the vaccines and stepped-up efforts to address residents' hesitancy about getting the shots.

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"I don't think incentives are going to take us to where we're trying to go," she said. "I think the best strategies are the strategies around improving access and making sure people are getting their questions answered and they have access to good information. So I think that needs to continue to be really the framework in which we operate.

"But we are grateful for all the contributions that do make it exciting for some people to come in now and go ahead and (get) vaccinated. So we think incentives have their place, but they're no substitute for the hard work with improving access and making sure people have the kind of information they're looking for to answer their questions."

CNS contributed to this report.