DeKalb County has enlisted two current Atlanta Hawks stars — and another local legend — to encourage residents to “take the shot.”
In a new radio ad that’s heavy on basketball puns and scheduled to hit local airwaves Tuesday, John Collins, Clint Capela and Dominique Wilkins join DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond in urging residents to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
The 60-second ad also touts a Saturday vaccination event in which those who get shots will receive $100 prepaid debit cards.
“Get your information from a reliable source,” Collins, who recently signed a five-year extension with the Hawks, says in the ad.
“Do not listen to your uncle on social media,” Capela chimes in.
COVID-19 cases are surging again in DeKalb County and across most of Georgia. While DeKalb is outpacing the state average for vaccinations, only about 51% of residents had gotten at least one dose as of late last week.
About 45% of DeKalb residents are fully vaccinated.
Those numbers have led Thurmond and other county officials to seek new ways to incentivize the vaccine. DeKalb has now held a handful of events in which $50 prepaid debit cards were given to those who got shots.
A new event this weekend will allow residents to double their score.
Shots — and $100 debit cards — will be available from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at The Gallery at South DeKalb, 2801 Candler Road in Decatur. Vaccinations are free, administered in drive-thru fashion, and available to all residents 12 and older.
MedCura Health will also be on site to offer free COVID-19 tests, officials said.
“Got questions?” Wilkins asks in the radio ad touting the event. “So did I. And I took the shot.”
The DeKalb Board of Health also offers vaccinations at the Doraville MARTA station (6000 New Peachtree Road). That site is open between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Shots are also available at the board’s health centers throughout the county. A list of upcoming mobile vaccine clinics is available here.
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