Florida county offers gift cards to get more people vaccinated

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - More than 10 million people in Florida have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Health officials want to get vaccination numbers even higher and many counties are trying new ways to get people to vaccine sites.

For example, officials are at Seminole State College on Monday to offer gift cards to grocery stores to those who get vaccinated. You have to be vaccinated on Tuesday to receive the monetary incentive. 

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The vaccine event at Seminole State College goes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Only the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being given at this site on Monday. Only those 18 and up can receive a shot.

According to the Seminole County dashboard, the county surpassed the halfway point of those eligible to be vaccinated. 50.9 percent of the eligible residents in the county are vaccinated.

Ever since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened up vaccine eligibility to children 12 and up, the county has focused on mobile sites at schools to make it as easy as possible for people.

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"What we’re providing here is to make it as convenient as possible for folks so if they want it – if they want to come and get that vaccine this is a convenient place for them to do it," Seminole County Office of Emergency Management Aaron Funk said. 

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