New York City residents who get a booster shot will be eligible for $100 by the end of the year, as the city tries to blunt a surge of Covid-19 cases linked to the highly transmissible omicron variant.
There is a sign for a vaccine site in Staten Island.
The images are from the same company.
New Yorkers who get a booster shot at a city-run vaccine site will get $100.
The city had already offered incentives for people to get a first dose of the vaccine, but hadn't offered incentives for booster shots.
The first 50 people to receive their shots at vaccine sites will be eligible for a drawing for ski lift tickets and tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
The booster shot program will not take away funding from any other city programs, as De Blasio said the city will make it a priority to spend whatever it takes to encourage people to get the shot.
Booster shots provide better protection against the omicron variant than the initial vaccine series, prompting the emphasis on getting New Yorkers the third shot.
Boosters are a crucial piece of the equation when it comes to protecting against the omicron variant, according to de Blasio. We want everyone to get those boosters as soon as possible.
The number is big.
9,279. As of Tuesday, the average number of new Covid-19 cases in New York City was seven days, a sharp increase from the previous week when the omicron variant was new to the city. De Blasio has resisted imposing any new restrictions or shutdowns because he said the city would instead focus on ramping up vaccinations and booster shots. De Blasio said that vaccinations are the real weapon to defeat Covid-19.
The key background.
The $100 payments have been a popular tactic to encourage Covid vaccination, with states offering prizes like million-dollar lotteries, free beer and even guns. New York City's new payment initiative appears to be among the first cash initiatives offered as part of the booster shot roll out, though West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has offered $50 to senior citizens who get a booster shot at certain locations. It is not clear if the cash payments work. A study released in October suggested that the Covid-19 vaccine incentives did little to increase state vaccination rates.
NYC promises more testing sites after hours.
Cash prize incentives made a zero difference to vaccine rates.
Companies say that the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 Booster is neutralizing the Omicron variant.
People in NYC will be paid $100 to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Coverage and live updates on the coronaviruses.
