Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City announced on Tuesday that people who receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot by the end of the year would receive a $100 incentive. Individuals who receive their second or third COVID-19 booster shots before December 31 at a city-run location or one of its Somos care partner clinics are eligible.
In a tweet, the mayor's office wrote, "This is the moment. Get your booster and protect your family and city." New York City began paying $100 to everyone who received their first shot at a city-run site in July. Prepaid debit cards, as well as postal and email distribution, were used to disburse the monies.
New York City offers $100 to residents who get booster shots
As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 grows across the United States, the city begins implementing the incentive, as per CBS News. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Omicron is responsible for about three-quarters of all new infections.
According to municipal data, the percentage of persons who tested positive in New York City for the week ending December 17 was roughly 8%, more than double the seven-day average from a week earlier.
New COVID testing sites have opened in New York City, as officials throughout the area and the country rush to keep up with an omicron variant-fueled surge of cases. Although the city is not closing down, many Broadway musicals have canceled performances for the remainder of the week because of the increased number of cases.
Per ABC7 NY, Mayor de Blasio said seven public schools are now shuttered due to coronavirus infections, up from four on Monday. The mayor appeared to accept that the situation room, which enables real-time reporting of school incidents, has a staffing shortage. They've "doubled the staffing," he claims.
The introduction of new testing sites around the city comes only one day after municipal authorities announced a new single-day high of 15,245, as more Broadway plays were forced to cancel performances and the NHL suspended its season. De Blasio claimed the demand for COVID-19 testing is "beyond anything we've ever seen before," citing rising wait times.
NY breaks single-day record for new COVID-19 cases
Simultaneously, he acknowledged that the most effective cure - at-home testing kits - is in low supply, both from private enterprises and the federal government. One of the eight new brick-and-mortar stores, as well as 17 mobile trucks rolling over the city, will open on Tuesday in Washington Heights.
De Blasio stated that 112 city-run locations would be functioning by the end of the week. However, while the waits at those facilities are sometimes shorter than those at privately managed stations, they can still be extended.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration promotes the initiative as a way for New Yorkers to enhance their immune systems and wallets. Incentives have been used in other places outside New York to encourage families to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Chicago health officials provided families $100 gift cards to get their children vaccinated in November. When their children received immunizations in San Antonio, Texas, parents and guardians were also given $100 gift cards to H-E-B stores.
According to public disclosures by medical systems and state officials, 48 US states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, had reported cases of Omicron as of Monday. Meanwhile, over 52,253,848 people have caught coronavirus in the country since the pandemic began, with over 830,990 people dying, as per The Republic World.
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