Black Hawk County health officials said they are launching a gift card basket raffle to incentivize adult residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Officials announced Friday that they will raffle off four gift card baskets each totaling $500 in value every Friday in July.
Black Hawk County health officials have announced they will raffle off gift card baskets every Friday in July to try to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates. pic.twitter.com/e4xUk3E1MT
— Natalie Krebs (@natalie_krebs) June 11, 2021
To qualify, you must be a resident of Black Hawk County, 18 or older, and have received your initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine between June 11 and July 29.
County Public Health Director Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye said they’re especially trying to reach adults ages 18 to 24.
"That's a population that hardly goes to see their providers," she said. "And so this is also the group that we're trying to reach and incentives have been effective in reaching those populations."
Cisse Egbuonye said the gift card baskets were funded through a private donation from the Otto Schoitz Foundation.
The state's fifth most-populous county has a goal of getting 75 percent of adult residents vaccinated by July 29. Currently, 58 percent of its residents are vaccinated.
Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters last week she will not enact incentives like a vaccine lottery, as some other states have done.
The state launched a multi-media marketing campaign this week to encourage more Iowans to get the shot.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 1.4 millions Iowans are fully vaccinated, about 45 percent of the total population.
