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COVID cash incentive cards expand to 38 counties

Starting this week, the $25 dollar COVID Cash Cards are expanding to 38 counties - ten of which are in central NC or near the Triangle.

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The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is expanding a program proven to be successful in encouraging people to get their COVID vaccine.

Starting this week, the $25 dollar COVID Cash Cards are expanding to 38 counties – ten of which are in central NC or near the Triangle.

The cards had originally only been available in four counties.

The $25 Summer Cards are meant to help offset the time and transportation costs of getting vaccinated.

Participating vaccination sites offer the cards to anyone 18 and older who gets their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine — or anyone who drives someone to their vaccination appointment.

The expansion builds on the success of the pilot program launched in May in Mecklenburg, Guilford, Rowan and Rockingham counties.

More than 40% of people surveyed at pilot locations said having someone to drive them was a very important reason they got vaccinated at a Summer Card event.

Around 25% of people surveyed said the cash cards were an important motivation point for getting vaccinated.

"Some people need help covering the cost of taking time away from work and for transportation, and the Summer Cards are one way to help," said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D.

Furthermore, she said some people who got vaccinated at a Summer Card event went on to drive someone else to help them get vaccinated – and picking up another $25 card in the process.

"The demand for vaccinations increased after they started participating in the program," said Dr. Deepak Kumar, North Carolina Central University’s Advanced Center for COVID-19 Related Disparities. "The results show that the program is helping to reach the most vulnerable of our communities."

There is increasing urgency for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the more dangerous new Delta variant is rapidly spreading in the United States, including in North Carolina.

Getting a vaccine is the best way for people to protect themselves from COVID-19. Rigorous clinical trials among thousands of people ages 12 and up have proven the vaccines are safe and effective against all circulating variants. More than 140 million Americans have now been safely vaccinated and protected from serious illness and virus-related hospitalization and death.

Participating counties

Alleghany, Ashe, Beaufort, Bertie, Buncombe, Caswell, Cleveland, Cumberland, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gaston, Greene, Guilford, Harnett, Hertford, Jackson, Johnston, Lee, Lenoir, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, New Hanover, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Wake, Watauga, Wayne and Wilson.

Those interested in the program can visit YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov or call 888-675-4567 to find a participating location.

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