Key TakeawaysThe White House is teaming up with corporations to offer perks and discounts in order to encourage COVID vaccination.Additional initiatives from the Biden administration make it easier to find a vaccine in your area and even find the specific brand you want.While perks may help encourage vaccination, improving access and convenience is of the utmost importance, since many people cannot afford to miss work to get a vaccine.

Key Takeaways

The White House is teaming up with corporations to offer perks and discounts in order to encourage COVID vaccination.Additional initiatives from the Biden administration make it easier to find a vaccine in your area and even find the specific brand you want.While perks may help encourage vaccination, improving access and convenience is of the utmost importance, since many people cannot afford to miss work to get a vaccine.

Will 20% off a shopping trip at CVS convince some people to also get a COVID-19 vaccine at the pharmacy? What about $5 off at Target or a free Uber or Lyft ride to a vaccine site?

Those are just some of the incentives that the White House and some U.S. corporations announced recently in an effort to boost vaccination rates. There are currently more than 117 million fully vaccinated individuals in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Tracker

Slavitt said the administration is “working with major businesses to provide special deals and promotions for those who get vaccinated.” The deals are generally not retroactive for people already vaccinated. Many last only through the month of May. They include, according to the White House:

Making Access as Easy as Possible

In addition to offering perks for vaccination, the administration is doubling down on making vaccines available to anyone, anywhere. On Tuesday, May 11, President Bidenannounceda slew of initiatives, including:

Booking Appointments Gets Easier Too

To receive the same information via phone call and for help making appointments, people can now call a COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline at 1-800-232-0233.

Additional Barriers to Access

People truly fearful or distrusting of the vaccine, of course, may not find a $5 discount coupon or a free Uber ride enough incentive to get their shot. But public health experts think that for at least some people who remain unvaccinated, the issue is not hesitancy, but rather missing work or family obligations for a vaccine appointment, twice. For some, this is not just an inconvenience, but an impossibility.

“Many people have no idea of their schedule in the week ahead, yet they’re being asked to commit an hour or several to getting the shot on a day when they may have to work or care for kids and deal with a myriad other things,” saidAshish Jha, MD, MPH,dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, during an April call with reporters. “My second shot was scheduled on an impossibly busy day, but because I’m the dean of a school, I could move my appointments around to accommodate the vaccine slot.”

How Communities Are Breaking Down COVID-19 Vaccine Language Barriers

Richard Seidman, MD, MPH,chief medical officer of LA Care Health Plan, a Medicaid plan that covers more than two million low-income individuals in Los Angeles, says the healthcare provider, under Medicaid rules, has provided free transportation for about 1,000 people to get their vaccines. “But transportation is not the only barrier,” Seidman tells Verywell. “Many people who are unemployed and looking for work, or trying to stave off eviction, just haven’t put the vaccine high on their list because of so many competing concerns.”

Easier access, such as walk-in appointments rather than scheduling weeks in advance, can make a difference for some, Seidman says.

What This Means For You

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit ourcoronavirus news page.

1 SourceVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States.

1 Source

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States.

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?