Businesses Continue to Offer Incentives for Those Who Are Vaccinated
Photo by Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash
As COVID-19 vaccination rates begin to plateau, businesses all over the country are rolling out incentives to promote nationwide vaccination. The push for more people to get vaccinated is a result of many different factors.
The Greenhouse of Walled Lake launched “Pot for Shots” to provide vaccinated individuals with a reward in the form of a free joint.
“We really wanted to help fight this terrible pandemic and give some hope,” CEO Jerry Millen told Scriberr News.
“We didn’t want to politicize the vaccine so we decided to reward those who got the shot. Being that this is America we believe in freedom of choice and wanted to make sure we respected those who chose either way,” he said.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced the federal lift of mask mandates for vaccinated Americans. President Biden has also created a new initiative for a “month of action” against COVID-19, with the goal of getting 70% of adults vaccinated by July 4.
But as the initial rush to get vaccinated dies down, the numbers of those who are not vaccinated are starting to stagnate.
There seems to be a growing ‘all hands on deck’ energy throughout the country, as government officials and businesses alike continue to try and raise the vaccination rates once more.
These incentives are not limited to one kind of business, either. Establishments ranging from dispensaries, doughnut shops, bars to sporting events are all participating in this push for herd immunity.
Krispy Kreme, a popular doughnut chain, was the first to take on the challenge. Starting in mid-March, anyone who showed their vaccination card received a free doughnut, resulting in 1.5 million donuts given away to customers.
Many other businesses followed the doughnut shop’s example, creating all kinds of deals that reward vaccinated Americans. Major companies like Amazon are encouraging their hundreds of thousands of employees to get vaccinated through a financial incentive; the NYC baseball teams of the Yankees and Mets are offering ticket vouchers for those vaccinated at the ballpark. Even the brewing company, Anheuser-Busch, promised to “buy Americans 21+ a round of beer” when Biden’s goal of 70% had been met.
“Providing incentive for employees is a great way of motivating people to achieve certain goals,” Amazon Process Associate Stefan Siddon said.
“The vaccine incentive program provides an extrinsic motivation for employees to help society and the business get back to normal.”
Businesses and movements alike continue to utilize the promotion of health safety in accordance with their personal goal, as well as the overarching goal of defeating COVID-19.
Yet, as the current state of vaccination is not a black-and-white problem, neither are the opinions of vaccination incentives. Many, however, believe it to be a smart idea and that people will feel more inclined to get a vaccine if they are rewarded for it.