The commissioners from Tarrant County are currently considering offering financial incentives to strengthen the call for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a report said.
During a meeting between the Tarrant County commissioners Tuesday morning, they proposed implementing a reward program that would offer people some financial incentive if they are to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The said incentive program will pay the people anywhere from $50 or $100, should they decide to get vaccinated, NBCDFW.com reported.
The proposal came from Tarrant County Administrator G. K. Maenius who said that the vaccines are the most effective tool against the virus.
In the overview of the incentive program proposal he sent to the county commissioners, he wrote, “The most effective tool to mitigate COVID-19 and end the pandemic is vaccination.”
Nevertheless, commissioners are debating whether the program will actually boost the county’s vaccination rates.
According to the latest data from the county dated Sept. 8, Tarrant County had a 56% vaccination rate for eligible population or those aged 12 and up. However, if the younger kids were factored in, the total vaccination rate went down to 46% of the entire population. That said, the county has a total of 969,977 vaccinated residents.
Tarrant County isn’t the first county to consider giving out incentives to convince people to get vaccinated. Other larger counties in the state of Texas have already started their own vaccine incentive programs.
In Harris County, residents have received offers of a $100 cash card for getting vaccinated as part of an incentive program that they have been implementing since mid-August. The incentive program initiative proved to be successful in Harris County at that time, as their reports showed that the daily vaccination rates increased by 706%.
