ROCK ISLAND, Illinois — About 55 percent of people in the Quad Cities are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Scott County Health Department's Facebook post on August 23, 2021.
Last week, the Rock Island County Health Department ended its vaccine incentive program. The health department raffled off tickets to Six Flags for anyone who came into the health department to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Those tickets were provided to the Rock Island County Health Department by the state of Illinois as a vaccine incentive, according to Janet Hill, the chief operating officer with the Rock Island County Health Department.
Since that local vaccine incentive has ended and the tickets have been distributed, the health department is not planning any additional monetary incentives right now.
Hill said she believes if the Six Flags tickets were enough of an incentive to bring people out to get vaccinated, she thinks that was money well-spent by the state of Illinois.
Moving forward, health department leaders in Rock Island County, including Hill, said the Pfizer vaccine's approval should serve as an incentive itself for people who are on the fence about getting vaccinated, even though there was some excitement behind the Six Flags incentive.
"The incentive right now is that we have a highly effective vaccine that will keep you from getting seriously ill and at this point is very very good protection," said Hill.
As health leaders have stressed for months, Rock Island County health leaders hope the approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will help more people decide to get vaccinated.
The Rock Island County Health Department offers the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. They offer the Pfizer vaccine on Fridays during the same hours.
Those vaccines are available at the health department office in Rock Island. Masks are required inside.
There is another incentive happening at the state level in Illinois this week. The "All in" vaccine lottery will draw its grand prize winners on Thursday, August 26.
In that drawing, two people will be chosen to win $1 million grand prizes. Illinois residents who have received at least once dose of a vaccine in the state.
You can learn more about the eligibility requirements and about the lottery here.