Get a coronavirus vaccine in Bucks County and treat yourself to a free water ice. Get a shot in New Jersey and chase it with complimentary beer or wine. In South Philadelphia, jabs last weekend came with tacos, and in Fairmount Park, some people have gotten $20 for getting their second shots if they bring a friend for a first. As vaccine demand drops and the country claws its way toward mass .
Credit: Scott Thomas Photography via Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Boardwalk juggler
People in New Jersey can cast off their masks and mingle come Friday, but state officials said the COVID-19 vaccine campaign will continue full force albeit with a festive overtone over the Memorial Day weekend and beyond.
On Wednesday Gov. Phil Murphy and state health commissioner Judy Persichilli outlined some of the celebratory immunization events pending for the next few days, including a half-dozen “block-party” style street festivals hosted by churches in communities where vaccination rates continue to lag.
The NY Red Bulls will host a vaccination clinic at their Harrison stadium open to ticketholders and members of the public before their Saturday match, Persichilli said. And the state partnered with local organizations to organize immunization opportunities at three Jersey Shore sites over the weekend, including an event on the Asbury Park boardwalk Murphy and Persichilli s
frustrated, i m told, was yourself. listen, more time on the clock here in a pandemic is your ally. we just weren t ready to lift that mandate on may 13th. but if you look at the progress we ve made even in the past ten days or so, viral numbers going down, hospitalizations, positivity rates, et cetera, rate of transmission, and it allowed us further to push out our vaccine program of something called operation jersey summer, that had just taken hold. we ve now got a bunch of programs including knocking on folks doors in under-vaccinated communities. that time on the clock has been really valuable. as of this friday, the amount of time between may 13th and may 28th, we were able to make a lot of progress on both the viral numbers going in the down direction and the vaccine numbers going up. so what are, governor murphy, the exact numbers you re looking at in terms of vaccinations. one of the things we talked
Credit: (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
May 19, 2021: Gov. Phil Murphy, center, at Island Beach State Park, where he announced the state will give free season-long admission to this and other state parks to any New Jersey resident who has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. Other incentives include a free glass of wine at participating wineries.
Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that it will be a challenge for New Jersey to reach the COVID-19 immunization goal he set early this year and announced several new incentive programs designed to encourage more residents to get vaccinated.
The state has launched other such reward programs, like an arrangement with breweries that enables newly vaccinated individuals to get a free beer, and it has partnered with churches and other community organizations to encourage people to be immunized against COVID-19. But the pace of daily COVID-19 shots has slackened significantly in recent weeks and Murphy appeared concerned that New Jers