West Virginia governor defends "Do it for Babydog" vaccine lottery after federal subpoena

Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice defended West Virginia's multi-million-dollar "Do it for Babydog" vaccine incentive lottery Tuesday after critics raised questions and federal investigators subpoenaed Justice's office for information about the cost of some of the new trucks given to some  sweepstakes winners. 

"Everyone was pushing everybody to try to get more and more and more vaccines in people's arms," Justice said during his weekly online news conference. "We received a subpoena to supply information, we supplied it all."

The governor's chief of staff, Brian Abraham, said the federal request for documents was focused on some of the car dealers who had provided luxury vehicles to sweepstakes winners, and Justice's office was not under investigation for any wrongdoing. 

The first lottery winners were announced on June 21, 2021. Grace Fowler was one of the winners announced on July 14, 2021. She brought home a new truck and says she then learned its value may have been inflated, and along with it, her tax bill, which exceeded $20,000. She ultimately decided to sell the truck.

"There was a question as to how much was charged for the vehicles," Abraham said, but he added that "it's our understanding in talking again and cooperating that the matter's been concluded."

The "Do it for Babydog" vaccine lottery, named for Justice's English bulldog, faced criticism after more than $20 million in federal taxpayer money was spent on sweepstakes prizes, outspending incentive lotteries in larger states like neighboring Ohio, CBS News reported Monday. But Justice, defending the sweepstakes, argued that the race to boost vaccinations had no playbook.

"We were late to the party on this. We had many people come out and say why don't you do what Ohio's doing," the West Virginia governor said. "We got a lot of people across the finish line. There's no question in the entire world."

There have been questions about whether incentive programs succeeded in persuading those reluctant to get vaccinated. The peer-reviewed Journal of American Medical Association concluded that in West Virginia and several other states, vaccine incentive lotteries failed to deliver a significant uptick in vaccinations, although the study did acknowledge an uptick in certain other states with similar programs.

During the governor's virtual briefing Tuesday, CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane, who reported on federal scrutiny of the "Do it for Babydog" vaccine lottery on Monday, was abruptly removed from the video call without explanation and was unable to inquire about the sweepstakes. Justice argued that media reports about the federal inquiry into the state's incentive program were politicized and "driven by one thing and one thing alone... Justice is running for the Senate and it is probable that he's going to win, and if he wins, we're going to flip control."

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• COVID-19 Vaccine