Restaurants, clubs now hot spots for getting vaccine
Michael Rodgers arrived at the bustling Turkey Leg Hut on Friday expecting to get a decadent shrimp-stuffed turkey leg and some fries.
He left with an extra side: a shot of COVID vaccine.
“I just came to experience the Turkey Leg, but since it was right here and I was going to do it anyway, might as well just take it,” said Rodgers, a 35-year-old Memphis resident in town visiting family. “The line was so long, so why not?”
In their latest attempt to vaccinate the masses, Houston Health Department officials plan to offer COVID shots at restaurants, clubs and other high-traffic areas across the city in the coming weeks, hoping to catch idle bodies at a moment when time isn’t of the essence.
City leaders said visits to those locations mark a new phase of their strategy to deliver COVID vaccines, as they target younger adults that have been more hesitant to roll up their sleeves.
“We set up all the big locations, like at NRG (Stadium) and the Bayou Center, but the people have not been coming in the numbers we need them to come,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “We’re kind of reconfiguring things, and now the
approach is to go to where people are, to go to the venues people are attending and patronizing.”
State officials estimate about 67 percent of Harris County residents age 65 and older are fully vaccinated, compared to about 40 percent of all residents age 16 and older. The disparity is partially attributable to older adults, who are more vulnerable to severe health complications from COVID, gaining earlier access to shots.
City officials descended on the Museum District restaurant Friday evening with an unexpected offer to customers: if you’ll get a shot, we’ll hold your spot in line and give a 10 percent discount on your meal.
While the restaurant’s queue stretched more than 100 people throughout the early evening, a modest 20 customers accepted the offer through the unit’s first two hours on site.
The willing participants included Bea Mariz, who overcame her fear of needles with support from
her dining partner, anesthesiologist Brenda Banks, and some friendly prodding from the second-term
mayor.
“I was not going to drive myself to any vaccination center,” Mariz
said. “I’m still shaking. I was so scared.”
Houston Health Department
Director Stephen Williams said he wants vaccination rates among younger adults to be “a lot higher than it is.”
By traveling to busy locations like the Turkey Leg Hut, health officials can dispel vaccine myths in-person, help reduce needle anxiety and rely on hesitant people’s friends to gently push toward vaccination. Williams said future stops might include different incentives, such as a tangible handout.
“I think what we’re seeing now is that for each age group, the strategies have to be different,” Williams said.
City officials said they plan to visit similar sites in the coming weeks, though no final plans have been made beyond returning to the Turkey Leg Hut on Saturday. However, the 66-year-old mayor did foreshadow a late-night stop at one of the city’s hopping clubs.
“If you can’t hang, you don’t want to be with the mayor,” Turner said with a wry smile. “We’re going to where the people are. And then I’m going to be in church on Sunday morning.”