DeKalb County will again offer $50 prepaid debit cards in exchange for COVID-19 vaccinations this weekend, reprising an incentivization effort that officials said has helped get more shots in arms.
The first 100 people to get vaccinations during a Saturday morning drive-thru event at The Gallery at South DeKalb will receive the cards. MedCura Health also will offer free COVID-19 tests and provide backpacks to students, officials said.
“We are urging residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves and their families as COVID-19 cases are again on the rise,” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said in a news release.
The event will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and is open to residents 12 and older. The mall is located at 2801 Candler Road in Decatur.
Vaccinations are free.
DeKalb first offered the gift cards in exchange for shots during a food distribution event last weekend. The county said it administered 185 vaccinations that day — a nearly 50% increase over the previous month’s incentive-less event.
As of Tuesday, only about 45% of DeKalb County residents were fully vaccinated.
“With the continued dramatic rise in the number of cases and hospitalizations associated with the COVID-19 Delta variant, time is of the essence,” DeKalb District Health Director, Dr. Sandra J. Valenciano, said in a news release.
“Our community must rally together now to stop COVID-19 and that begins with getting vaccinated, in order to protect everyone, especially our most vulnerable residents and our young children who are not yet eligible for the vaccine.”
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