Free beer, free doughnuts, savings bonds are part of the incentives government officials and businesses are putting up to encourage Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
President Joe Biden wants 70 percent of adults to have received at least one shot by Independence Day on July 4 and overcoming vaccine hesitancy is key to reaching the goal.
‘We know there are millions of Americans who need a little bit of encouragement to get the shot,‘ Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
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Some 56 percent of American adults — more than 145 million people — have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine but the pace of vaccination has been declining lately.
Federal, state and local officials are partnering with pharmacies, restaurants, breweries, supermarkets and sports teams to come up with incentives to get people to get their shots.
In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy launched a “Shot and a Beer” program to encourage vaccination.
‘Any New Jerseyan who gets their first vaccine dose in the month of May and takes their vaccination card to a participating brewery will receive a free beer,’ Murphy tweeted.
The offer is only open, of course, to residents of the “Garden State” who are over the age of 21, the legal drinking age in the United States.
Governor Ned Lamont of the state of Connecticut unveiled a similar ‘Free Drink’ promotion with participating restaurants last month.
In Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser urged residents of the nation’s capital to ‘come get vaccinated and grab a beer, on us’ at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
