DeKalb County will offer $50 gift cards to 300 people who get the COVID-19 vaccine this weekend.
The first 100 people to get shots at each of the three vaccination sites operating during the county’s back-to-school food distribution event on Saturday morning will get the prepaid debit cards.
Only about 44% of DeKalb residents are fully vaccinated, officials said, and the move is meant to incentivize more people to make the leap.
Anyone 12 and older is eligible to get the vaccine.
“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 County CEO Michael Thurmond said in a news release.
Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, vaccines will be available at three different locations: James R. Hallford Stadium (3789 Memorial College Ave. in Clarkston), Buck Godfrey Stadium (2817 Clifton Springs Road in Decatur) and Rehoboth Baptist Church (2997 Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker).
Each of those locations will also offer food packages that will include 20-pound boxes of fruits and vegetables and 10-pound packages of chicken, as well as single-serving packages of grits, juice boxes and cereal.
Food distribution begins at 9 a.m. and will also be offered at two additional sites: Big Miller Grove Missionary Baptist Church (3800 Big Miller Grove Way #4811 in Stonecrest) and Berean Christian Church (2201 Young Road in Stone Mountain).
Vaccinations will not be offered at those two locations.
