COVID In Colorado: Adams County Offers Incentives To Help Boost Vaccinations
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Health experts continue to advocate for vaccines as the best way to curb this rise in COVID-19 cases. Some counties in Colorado are offering more incentives to get doses into the arms of those living in underserved communities.
The Village Exchange Center in Aurora was able to administer the vaccines and give families up to $1,000. This incentive was possible as the Village Exchange Center received $1 million from Adams County to launch the vaccine equity fund. This pilot program serves Black and Indigenous people of color in communities that have a higher rate of not getting vaccinated.
"For us to hold a vaccine clinic here is because we want people to choose if they want a vaccine, they can actually have access to it. With our vaccine equity fund, this gives them an additional opportunity to be financially supported in making that decision," said Amanda Blaurock, Executive Director and co-founder of Village Exchange Center.
Families that live in Adams County received $250 up to $1,000 per household. A total of $100 for the first shot, $150 if they were getting their second shot, and $250 if they took the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Those who live outside Adams County received a $100 Walmart gift card from the state.
"The $250 per person is the idea of, 'OK, we're taking time off, we normally don't have the opportunity to do this, and we needed money for us to subsidize us being able to come and make the choice to get the vaccine if we wanted it,'" Blauock said.
Jose Gomez, who is the Vaccine Exchange Coordinator at the Village Exchange Center, says the money is an important incentive for the families who are getting the vaccine since many of them can't afford to take the day off to get it.
"Many of these people are living day to day not even week to week or check to check," he said. "We're doing everything we can to balance that economic side for them to come and get vaccinated even if on the next day they have to miss work, they're not going to miss out on a whole day. We're able to balance them out as much as we can."
The next COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Village Exchange Center will be on Aug. 19.
