MMayor Muriel Bowser announced the “Take the Shot, D.C. Giveaway” over the weekend, where D.C. residents receiving their first or only dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at certain locations can win prizes including a new car, $10,000 to be spent on groceries, or a year of free rides on Metro buses and trains. Additionally, all D.C. residents 12 years and older receiving their first or only dose at those vaccination sites will receive a $51 VISA gift card.
To enter the giveaway, residents must be vaccinated between June 19 and July 17 at the RISE Demonstration Center (1730 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE), Anacostia High School (1601 16th Street, SE), or Ron Brown High School (4800 Meade Street, NE).
The drawing can only be entered once. Winners will be notified by text or phone if selected and can obtain their prize after completing an authorization form and receiving their second dose (unless they got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that only requires one dose). There will be one winner per week for the car, two winners per week for the groceries, and multiple winners per week for the transit fare.
To help promote the giveaway, all District residents who got vaccinated at Anacostia High School on June 19 were entered to win two roundtrip American Airlines tickets to anywhere the airline flies. In addition, Bowser and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, visited Anacostia High School that day to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
D.C. is not the only state aiming to promote vaccinations through incentives. Ohio awarded $1 million to five people per week starting in May. California, North Carolina, Maine and others launched similar sweepstakes. And Washington state is temporarily allowing select cannabis retailers to give a free joint to adults receiving their first or second dose, according to the Washington Post.
As of June 21, nearly 50% of District residents are fully vaccinated and the daily COVID-19 case count has steadily declined to less than five new COVID-19 cases per day. There have been 1,141 lives lost in D.C. due to the virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the COVID-19 vaccines are both safe and effective, and the federal agency recommends children 12 years and older get vaccinated for free to help stop the spread of the virus. A full list of days and hours of D.C. walk-up sites can be found on coronavirus.dc.gov/vaccinatedc and those who are unable to leave home to get vaccinated can call 1-855-363-0333 to make an appointment for a free at-home vaccination.
