With a more contagious variant of the coronavirus taking root in Chicago, city officials on Tuesday expanded a home vaccination program to all residents 12 and up while dangling $50 GrubHub gift cards as a reward.
Starting Tuesday, people can book appointments at 312-746-4835 or chicago.gov/athome to register for a team to visit their home and vaccinate them and their families, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a news conference. The $50 Grubhub gift card incentives will be given out starting next Monday, to be usable with any restaurant that is available on the app.
“Let’s make it an event,” Arwady said. “Let’s get vaccine to their house, and let’s have a Grubhub meal as a result.”
Throughout the state, 84 cases of the Delta variant have been detected, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, meaning Chicago contains most of the reported cases.
Arwady added the Delta cases are geographically spread out across the city but are “very, very, very strongly concentrated” in unvaccinated residents.
“We are seeing all cases — not just the variants — really landing in unvaccinated neighborhoods and especially social networks, so that’s where we are continuing to put our primary focus,” Arwady said.
About 54% of all Chicagoans have received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest city data. That number is 65% for all adult residents, 71% for those 65 and up, and 38% for children 12 to 17 — the fastest growing vaccinated population.
The at-home vaccination program, which began in March for only homebound individuals before expanding, offer both the Pfizer vaccine, currently approved for those 12 and older, and Johnson & Johnson, which is for adults only. Up to 10 people can be vaccinated per household, with each family qualifying for one $50 gift card. A total $100,000 was donated from the food delivery company to support the gift cards.
Although anyone 12 or up is eligible, Arwady said the city hopes to especially reach Chicagoans 65 and up, a population whose vaccination coverage is behind the national average, she said. For younger adults, she noted, they might be more drawn to the free Lollapalooza passes offered this weekend.
To register for a Johnson & Johnson vaccine in exchange for one of 1,200 free single-day tickets, people can go to pcmslolla.juvare.com. For those already fully vaccinated, a link to free Lolla passes will be posted on the public health department’s social media pages and website on Sunday.
For the past couple of months, Chicago and Illinois officials have rolled out vaccine incentives to entice hesitant residents to get the COVID-19 shot. The state launched a vaccine lottery last week offering $7 million in cash and $3 million in college scholarships for all Illinois residents with at least one dose, while the city has focused on smaller prizes such as free haircuts and vaccine-exclusive concerts.
The firehose of vaccine rewards began around the end of April as officials noted the most eager residents already have gotten the vaccine and the next challenge was reaching everyone else.
Arwady on Tuesday said door-knocking campaigns have found many residents in under-vaccinated neighborhoods are still unaware the COVID-19 shot is free, and that the only entities with access to their vaccination records are their health care providers and the public health system. But she said both incentives and conversations are effectively chipping away at vaccine hesitancy.
“We know that we are working a lot harder to get every vaccination at this point than we were previously, and we also know a lot of people are tired of talking about COVID,” Arwady said. “Let’s really get rid of any barriers we can think of to access.”