Since June 24, the City of Bethel has been offering $100 gift cards to people getting their COVID-19 vaccine. And the program appears to be working. Since the program began, an additional 167 people have been vaccinated through the incentive program.
John Sargent is the grant manager for the city of Bethel. He said that the city plans to continue the program until every gift card is given to a newly vaccinated individual. The city paid for the gift cards with a grant from the State of Alaska. The funds could only be used on programs to incentivize the vaccine.
Sargent said that interest in the program has been waning slightly, but not by much.
“There was a mad rush in the beginning. Bethel Family Clinic gave out 27 cards in a week in June,” said Sargent.
In July, the city handed out 72 giftcards; in August it handed out 59.
To get your own $100 gift card, you can head to Bethel Family Clinic to get vaccinated. You’ll receive a card after your first shot. You can also get vaccinated at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation and bring your proof of vaccine to the city’s utility billing center to get a gift card. Both clinics offer each COVID-19 vaccine currently available, including the Pfizer vaccine, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to on Aug. 23.
