In Ohio there’s a $1 million weekly lottery that newly vaccinated people can enter. In New York City, the mayor offered burgers and fries from Shake Shack for anyone getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
In Yachats on Friday, people who show up to receive the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine will get a $6 gift certificate to Yachats Brewing + Farmstore, courtesy of the brewery and YachatsNews.
As health departments around the country shut down mass clinics, they are looking for new and innovative ways to encourage people to get vaccinated. Friday’s incentive is one small local effort.
The clinic sponsored by Lincoln County Public Health and Samaritan Health Services is scheduled 3-7 p.m. Friday behind the Yachats Commons.
In addition to scheduling a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine for people vaccinated April 21, the health department is also bringing 50 Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The $6 gift certificate to Yachats Brewing is for people who walk-in to get the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. No appointments are needed for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
People getting their second dose aren’t eligible for the certificate.
Because the Oregon Liquor Control Commission prevents breweries from giving away beer, the incentive is in the form of a gift certificate that can be used for anything Yachats Brewing sells.
Yachats Brewing and YachatsNews aren’t alone in offering this type of incentive in the Northwest. The Washington Brewers Guild and the Washington Wine Institute – after regulatory agencies in that state relaxed rules – plan to begin sponsoring clinics dubbed “Pints for Pokes” and “Vino for Vaccines.”
Moderna vaccine has been approved for people 18 and older and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved for people age 18 and over.
There are also walk-in clinics available Friday and Saturday at Samaritan’s education center across from Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport. The Moderna vaccine will be available from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday and the Pfizer vaccine available from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Appointments are available but walk-ins are welcome.
Lincoln County is one of five in Oregon to have vaccinated more than 65 percent of its residents over the age of 16. In Yachats’ 97498 ZIP code, 75 percent of residents have been vaccinated.