Philly is offering $100 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Now it just needs willing residents. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

This weeks promise of $100 for people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 hasnt brought big crowds to Philadelphias clinics, at least not yet.

The first clinic where people could collect the gift, the Salvation Army at 55th and Market Streets Friday afternoon, drew only about a dozen takers in its first two hours.

Its the first day of it, said Matt Rankin, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, who hoped news coverage would increase interest in the cash offer.

People are eligible for the $100 gift after receiving two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at one of the participating city health clinics. Someone who has already had one dose could get their second and receive the money within days.

Citywide, about 74% of people 12 and older are fully vaccinated. In that same age group, 90% have received at least one dose, meaning there are plenty of people who may be particularly open to a cash incentive to finish their vaccinations, Rankin said.

That was the case for Keith Walker, 39, who got his first Pfizer dose about a month ago. Hed intended to get his second dose eventually, he said, but the money motivated him.

It actually gave me a little boost to come out and get it, he said.

He is out of work, he said, and expected to use the money for necessities.

READ MORE: Philly ends its vaccine mandate for indoor dining, citing declining cases and need to ease burden on businesses

Full vaccination is overwhelmingly effective at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19 infections. Unvaccinated adults are 16 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated, the CDC reported. Recent studies have also shown that those who develop a breakthrough case after being vaccinated also have a lower risk of developing long COVID symptoms.

A $200,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is funding the cash incentives, enough to lure 20,000 people, Rankin said. The grant does not allow the money to be used for people receiving booster shots, and city workers are not eligible. Right now there are 10 locations scheduled for the shots-plus-incentive, but that list could grow, Rankin said. The sites and dates are listed on the city health departments website.

The next is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Global Leadership Academy, at 4601 W. Girard Ave.

People can receive their money in days by downloading an app administered by a contractor, Usio, a San Antonio, Texas, company. Or they can provide an address and have the money mailed within two weeks.

A woman at the clinic Friday, Tasha Mack, was there to get a booster shot, and was disappointed to learn she couldnt get the bonus. She got her third dose anyway.

I start a new job on Monday, she said. I thought, Good, I can use that to get money to put gas in the car.

A sweepstakes offer of up to $50,000 for people who got vaccinated in summer 2021 only briefly bumped up the pace of vaccinations in Philadelphia. Rankin acknowledged it has become harder to persuade holdouts to take the shot.

READ MORE: Dangling the chance to win cash prizes does not boost COVID-19 vaccination rates, Penn study finds

We know there is a population of people who are just not going to get it, he said. Then there are people on the fringe, in the gray area, who, maybe they need $100, that might get them to do it.

The city had been planning to have a cash incentive for vaccination since last fall, Rankin said, but managing the logistical and legal questions delayed the initiative. Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole announced the offer Wednesday as she introduced a new COVID safety strategy for the city that ended the vaccine mandate for indoor dining.

The indoor mask mandate in the city could also end in a matter of weeks, if current COVID-19 trends continue.

It was coincidence that the start of the money offer and the end of the vaccine mandate were announced at the same time, Rankin said, but he acknowledged that mandates have helped boost vaccination rates. The health department saw vaccinations increase after policies required health-care workers and city employees to be vaccinated, he said.

The vaccination requirement for indoor dining was one of the reasons Walker, of Northeast Philadelphia, got his first shot, he said.

Philadelphians have complicated reasons behind their vaccination decisions. Charles Smith, 47, works long hours in food service, and has had trouble finding a place where he could get a shot without an appointment after work.

He caught COVID-19 at the beginning of the year, and, though he recovered, he became very ill. He is also looking for a new job and was concerned being unvaccinated would make him unemployable at some places. Both his infection and job hunt encouraged him to get his first shot. He took Friday off from work to get his car registered, and though news coverage of the money offer informed him of the clinic, the cash wasnt the reason he came.

I wanted to do it anyway, he said. It was one of those days you wake up and say, let me get everything done today.

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Philly is offering $100 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Now it just needs willing residents. - The Philadelphia Inquirer