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New Yorkers who haven't gotten their vaccines yet will be offered free tickets to about a dozen NYC institutions and attractions if they go get their shot.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new incentive on Monday to get stragglers their vaccines, which would award them free tickets and deals to the New York Aquarium, the New York Botanical Garden, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Bronx Zoo, membership to the Public Theater, tickets to Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York City Football Club and the NYC Ferry.
RECOMMENDED: If you get vaccinated at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, you’ll get a free ticket to a game
"We want to make it easier and make it fun and want to give some incentives that are really going to encourage folks who haven't gotten around to it and were waiting around for the right moment," he said. "Here's the right moment."
While the mayor didn't go into detail about how this would work, he did say that more information about the program and the "great prizes" you'll get when you get vaccinated will be released in the coming days.
Haven’t gotten your #COVID19 vaccine yet? Now’s the time — and when you get your vax, we’re giving back! https://t.co/Bb070J0ECX pic.twitter.com/xQLPovImMD
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) May 10, 2021
As of Monday, NYC has issued about 7 million vaccine shots and our infection rate is the lowest it’s been in half a year at 2.01%...that being said, there has been a slow down in demand for shots, according to the CDC.
Fewer than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are getting their first dose each day, the lowest average since the end of February, Politico reported. Just three weeks ago, about 2 million Americans were getting their first dose each day. The New York Post reported last week that the number of New Yorkers seeking shots has plummeted in recent weeks and 45 percent of adult city residents still need a shot.
The city spent $16 million in May alone on a public service advertising campaign for the vaccines and issued an advisory to doctors asking them to reach out to patients who have not gotten the shot yet, according to The Post.
Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that those who get their vaccine shots at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium now can get free tickets to later games.
The new deals and free admission program may just be the ticket for some New Yorkers who have been holding out, which will take us closer to a safer reopening, but it seems a bit unfair to those of us who did their part and got the vaccine as early as they could. Is this another instance of "nice guys finish last?"
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