Under the Biden administration, more and more Americans are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and millions of doses have already been administered. President Joe Biden makes one more push to boost vaccination rates in the country through incentives.
Biden’s remarks Wednesday noted the incentives for Americans, especially those under 40 years old, who are able to get vaccinated as part of his administration’s goal to get most American adults vaccinated before July 4. Biden is looking to have 70 percent of American adults vaccinated before the country’s Independence Day. The White House has enlisted the help of several businesses from breweries to barbershops in order to boost the efforts.
One of the incentives is a free beer from Anheuser-Beuch should the goal of 70 percent of Americans getting inoculated before the 4th of July.
“Get a shot and have a beer. Free beer for everyone 21 years or over to celebrate the independence from the virus,” said Biden in his speech.
Aside from free beer, there is also the “Shots at the Shop” initiative, where Americans can get a haircut at one of 1000 Black-owned barbershops and salons in the country with no extra cost. Parents can get free childcare for their kids as they get vaccinated and employers can receive tax credits if they let workers who still feel the side effects from the vaccine get time off. This will also have cities compete to grow vaccination rates.
The amount of incentives given follows Ohio’s success in improving vaccination rates through strategies like million-dollar lotteries for residents who get inoculated.
Meanwhile, Biden laid out his plan to share the US supply of 80 million COVID-19 vaccines to other countries. Biden added that the first 25 million vaccine doses would be distributed across Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. This comes as the US has faced pressure from international communities to send assistance, with Biden saying back in May that he plans to send 80 million doses of US-approved COVID-19 vaccines overseas by the end of June.
From the first 25 million doses, 19 million would be sent through COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative. Seven million doses would be sent to Latin America and the Caribbean, seven million doses going to South and Southeast Asia, and around five million doses to Africa.