On Sunday, Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) held two vaccine clinics and offered incentives to those that showed up and got the shot. According to NBC 5, they awarded a $25 Walmart gift card to each person as an incentive.
Another clinic with the same offer was held on Friday, at a Walmart in Grand Prairie, WFAA reported.
Jheison Romain Nieto with Health and Human Services said, “It’s a way to thank people for helping us keep everyone safe.”
Those who went to the Friday clinic received their first, second, or booster Pfizer shot. Children five and older were also able to get vaccinated, according to WFAA.
Dallas County Health and Human Services have reported that 58% of the population has been fully vaccinated, but officials told WFAA many people continue to remain hesitant.
“They say ‘I can’t get the vaccine, I can’t afford to get it because I can’t get sick afterwards and miss days from work’ but it’s very import for people to remember if you get COVID, you’re going to be out much longer than if you took your second dose and you might feel bad for a day,” said Nieto.
One clinic was held at the Forest Lane Walmart in Dallas, and the second was held at the Seagoville Flea Market near U.S. Highway 175.
They came nearly a week after President Joe Biden assured the country that the COVID-19 omicron variant was not something to worry about. According to NBC 5, President Biden said there were experts at work in the event new versions of the vaccine are needed.
Dr. Thomas Giordano, an infectious diseases specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, explained that there is a reason people are concerned about the omicron variant.
“There’s a scientific rationale, but I also think there’s an emotional fear that this is the variant we’ve all been dreading. I don’t think there’s enough evidence to say that it is, though,” Giordano told NBC.
According to Giordano, this new variant can mutate rapidly. There is currently testing being done in Texas to find any recently positive COVID cases that contain omicron.
“It does have a lot of mutations. Many more mutations than other variants that have emerged in large enough groups of people to catch our attention,” Giordano told NBC. “Omicron may well be here already because the first cases go back to early November in South Africa, so closing the borders now, it may be a little late.”
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has encouraged Texans to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors.
