Driving laps on a NASCAR track wasn't as popular a vaccine reward as Kansas officials hoped


In a literal attempt to drive up vaccination numbers, Wyandotte County, Kansas offered residents the chance to ride their car around the Kansas Speedway in exchange for a COVID-19 test or vaccine. But Friday and Saturday's so-called Race to End COVID-19 wasn't quite the grand prix health officials had imagined, FOX 4 KC reports.
Of those that attended, 240 people were tested for COVID-19, but only 124 vaccines were administered, per FOX 4 KC.
"No matter what the number turns out to be, you always wish it would be higher," said Brian Koelliker, Unified Government's vaccine mobile operations supervisor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Wyandotte County vaccination rates have consistently lagged behind the rest of the state, FOX 4 KC reported last Tuesday. As of last week, only 33 percent and 28 percent of county residents had received their first dose or been fully vaccinated, respectively. In neighboring Johnson County, 45 percent are fully vaccinated.
At this point, Koelliker said, "We're just happy with whatever population, whatever number we can get at an event."
Plenty of other states are enticing residents with similarly targeted vaccination reward programs. Washington state just rolled out a "Joints for Jabs" initiative, allowing cannabis retailers to offer one free joint to every vaccinated adult. Meanwhile, Minnesota is offering the first 100,000 residents to receive a first dose between May 27 and June 30 their choice of a Minnesota fishing license, zoo admission, or state parks vehicle permit, among other prizes.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everything
Feature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
By The Week US
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US