$100 H-E-B gift cards to encourage vaccination

San Antonio is teaming up with H-E-B to pay vaccine-hesitant residents to take the plunge.

The city’s Metropolitan Health District will use $1 million of federal Covid-relief money to buy 10,000 H-E-B gift cards.

Each $100 card will go to a local who gets fully vaccinated at a city-sponsored clinic — or did so after July 31.

The card can buy anything at the store other than alcohol, tobacco, ammunition, weapons or lottery tickets.

Among eligible Bexar County residents 12 and older, 70 percent are fully vaccinated and 17 percent are partially vaccinated. That’s according to Metro Health Director Claude A. Jacob, who spoke at a City Council meeting.

The city aims to entice the remaining 13 percent of residents who — for whatever reason — “are still on the fence,” Jacob said.

Metro Health selected H-E-B because of its familiarity with and accessibility to residents, including high-risk and low-income individuals, according to a news release.

City Council approved the plan Thursday, and Metro Health plans to roll it out as early as the end of the month.

Most council members expressed strong support.

“I would like to encourage you to do this as fast as possible,” District 1 Councilman Mario Bravo told Jacob.

But not everyone was on board.

“This smacks of paternalism, and it treats adults like children,” said District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez, who recommended sitting down with those who don’t want the vaccine and “working harder” to listen to their concerns and overcome their objections.

And District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry expressed some skepticism: “Are we really going to convince people with $100 to go out and get something that they have refused to get to this point?”

But he said he was willing to give it a shot.