PHILADELPHIA — This week’s promise of $100 for people getting vaccinated against COVID-19 hasn’t brought big crowds to Philadelphia’s clinics, at least not yet.
The first clinic where people could collect the gift, at the Salvation Army at 55th and Market Streets Friday afternoon, drew only about a dozen takers in its first two hours.
“It’s 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. He 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.
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-19 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 department’s web site.
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.
Another woman at the clinic Friday, Tasha Mack, was there to get a booster shot, and was disappointed to learn she couldn’t 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 convince holdouts to take the shot.
