Over 500 residents in the Hammond area will get vaccinated Saturday as part of a program offering them 100 dollars for rolling up their sleeves. Executive Director of the North Oaks Foundation Staci Arceneaux said the initiative was proposed by a local businessman fearing cases would return to peak pandemic levels.
“He said I’m willing to put up the money, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is and so we said sure let’s give it a try let’s give it a try,” Arceneaux said.
The initial 10,000 dollars raised allowed for 100 appointments and 24 hours after the initiative was launched all appointments were booked. Arceneaux said Tangipahoa Parish has the lowest vaccination rate in Louisiana and many more business owners decided to increase those numbers by funding the project.
“The next day we had another 10,000 being donated from a gentleman and the day after that First Guaranty Bank got involved and it’s just kind of snowballed since then,” Arceneaux said.
Since the Pfizer vaccine requires two shots, participants in the program will receive 50 dollar increments and must get both doses in order to receive the full 100 dollars. Arceneaux said since the project was launched the walk-in clinics have seen an uptick in patients.
“Our numbers are climbing so dramatically I think people are starting to maybe take pause and think maybe I should go get a vaccine and do my part to help keep everybody in my community safe and healthy,” Arceneaux said.
This comes before President Biden’s call for states to offer newly vaccinated patients 100 dollars.
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