I got my vaccination early. So where’s my cash reward?
Shot incentives
Regarding “City Hall joins vaccine incentive push, offering $150 to those who get both shots,” (Aug. 25): As a citizen of Houston, I don’t believe that giving incentives out to those who have yet to receive their vaccine is a great idea simply because there are many people — including myself — who have already received the vaccine and, if I may speak for our vaccinated community, it would be unfair for the unvaccinated to receive an incentive to get the shot. I feel that those who received the vaccine prior to the incentive push should receive the incentives instead. I understand that the city is trying to improve safety by trying to convince the unvaccinated to get the vaccine, but you have to take into consideration those who have received the vaccine and their response. Another reason I don’t particularly agree with the offering of incentives to those who have yet to receive the vaccine is because I believe that those who want the vaccine have already gotten it and those who have yet to receive it don’t really plan on taking it. In Texas alone, as of Aug. 1, 9 million of the 24 million Texans eligible for the vaccine hadn’t been vaccinated yet. That is a lot of money that the city is just giving away. I just don’t think giving out an incentive is the best decision.
I would have to agree that the incentive of receiving up to $150 to get vaccinated will help a lot. Looking at the significant increase in numbers of people getting their vaccines with incentives, it has helped out a major amount. There are multiple aspects of this incentive that are fair and unfair to people who got their vaccines before and after the incentive. I can see how the incentive is unfair to those who got their vaccine prior to the incentive. As someone who is in that situation, I don’t really care about the $150 incentive. I am just glad that more people are choosing to stay safe and get the vaccine. The number of people who have died from COVID-19 is so jaw-dropping. It really makes me feel awful for those who have lost loved ones to COVID.
That said, it’s incredibly awful and immature that people need to be bribed $150 just to get two vaccines to save themselves and others from a deadly disease. I don’t understand how some people think that it's OK to risk other people's lives just because they don't want to get vaccinated. I understand that it might be scary to not fully understand what’s going into your body, but I would rather go through that fear than risk my life and others’. Living in a world with a deadly disease spreading is something no
one wants to go through, but stuff happens that we can't control and if we want to protect ourselves and others then we need to do what is right and humane: get vaccinated.
Ryan Couvillon, Sugar Land
As someone who has only recently gotten their first shot, I strongly disagree with the usage of more money to sway the public’s already opinionated view on the vaccine. I believe that the only reason our government has resorted to money is because their weakly displayed facts on the vaccine aren’t enough to influence their citizens (which is quite embarrassing).
Ben Davis, Sugar Land
Now the government is spending money so that people get vaccinated. Interesting. I understand that the vaccine is optional and has been promoted, however is this taking it a step too far? Do the
people who have already been vaccinated get a bonus for being vaccinated earlier?
I am a 15-year-old high school student living in Houston, and even I am getting suspicious of City Hall’s latest decision. Maybe the government is just trying to protect its citizens from harm's way, but is this the correct way to do it? The vaccine is no longer feeling like it's optional. In fact, hospitals are requiring their employees to be vaccinated, and if they do not get vaccinated they are “fired” or “dismissed.” The employees working in the hospital are on the front lines doing their best to help those in need, and now they either get vaccinated or fired.