Chaffey College offers $300 incentive to get vaccine

Chaffey College is offering students a cash incentive to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the college announced in an email to students this week.

Any student enrolled in classes for the current fall semester on or before Sept. 7 can receive $300 in cash if he proves he has been fully vaccinated by Oct. 15, according to the email sent Wednesday.

Students must submit documentation through their student portal showing they have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine.

The required documentation is the student’s completed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination record card.

“It is meant to encourage students to get the vaccine,” said Melissa Pinion, college spokesperson.

In mid-August, the district’s five-member governing board voted unanimously to require students, faculty, staff and visitors entering a Chaffey College campus to be fully vaccinated.

Employees and students who enter a Chaffey College facility must show documentation of full vaccination no later than Oct. 15. The mandate and the vaccination incentive affect students enrolled at the Rancho Cucamonga, Chino and Fontana campuses.

The vaccine incentive program is first come, first served. The incentive is only available while funding lasts. About $19,000 has been allocated for the program. The money comes from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, Pinion said.

The form of the incentive payment is being determined, but the college anticipates that it will be made through a debit card, direct payment or other means. Payments will be made by December, the email said.

As of Tuesday, San Bernardino County had moved

past 2 million shots in the arms of residents, according to state data. In the county, 60.7% of those over age 12 have received at least one dose, compared with 76% statewide.