VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — With COVID-19 surging once again in Central Florida, the Mayor of Daytona Beach is offering a new program hoping to encourage more people to get vaccinated. 

Next week, the city is hosting three COVID-19 vaccination clinics at different community centers around town. 

What You Need To Know

  • Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry came up with a plan to incentivize community members to get vaccinated against COVID-19

  • Next week, the city is hosting three vaccination clinics at different community centers around town

  • People who come to the clinics and receive a vaccination will get a $50 Walmart gift card — one card for each of the two Moderna vaccines

“We recognize that the more people that are vaccinnated the better off our communiity is as it relates to defeating this virus,” Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry said.

To get people to go, Mayor Henry came up with the idea to offer gift cards to those who get vaccinated. He intially offered $25 Walmart gift cards for each shot, but doubled the amount after seeing the spike in hospitalizations. 

“You know, we want to inspire and encourage and there is no greater motivator normally than money and so we thought $50 was a good starting place for each shot," Henry said. "It will be a two shot Moderna vaccination and if they take both shots — which is definitely our goal — then they can receive $100 to Walmart."

In Midtown Daytona Beach, Wilson Bagley is concerned that while most of his friends and family have been vaccinated, he has not. It’s something that weighs on him as COVID-19 infections spike once again. 

“Basically I know some places but every time I go there they are closed or they say they say they are not doing it anymore and since it came back in Florida more I think I should have it because I don’t want to get sick or anything,” Bagley said.

Bagley shared that he plans to attend one of these clinics and appreciates the added incentive.  

“That's a good thing because the economy we need the $50 and plus we all need the shot,” Bagley said.

Mayor Henry says he raised the money from local businesses back in January and decided to offer the gift cards now, believing that fewer people are motivated to get vaccinated. 

“It is something I want to be successful. I would like for us essentially to run out of funds because we want the demand to be that high,” Henry said.

The vaccination clinics will be held on:

Mayor Henry shared they will offer more initiatives to get vacciinnated in the future. He said next on the list is offering incentives to city staff, as he would like to see all of them vaccinated.