The idea of getting vaccinated had been rolling around in the back of Tyler Morsch’s mind for weeks. As a 28-year-old, he didn’t feel in any particular danger, but he finally decided he should start looking for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic this week.
Then he heard the magic words.
Free beer.
Earlier this month, Erie County, N.Y., began working with a local microbrewery to host its Shot and a Chaser Program, offering individuals who got their first dose of the vaccine at a brewing company a free pint glass and coupon for the vaccinated person’s drink of choice.
Under normal circumstances, it would be beyond strange for a brewery to host a vaccination clinic in the shadow of 1,000-gallon fermentation tanks.
But these are not normal times.
“Given the world we live in right now, it’s not so weird,” said Ben Kestner, the director of taproom operations Resurgence Brewing.
Before the vaccinations started at 11 a.m., there was a line out the door. By mid-afternoon that day, more than 100 people had been vaccinated at Resurgence, including some walk-ups and restaurant patrons who decided to get the vaccine at the spur of the moment.
Programs like the Shot and a Chaser program are among the more creative outreach efforts to try and attract individuals who would otherwise not consider vaccination a priority, especially younger adults.
Others are now picking up on the idea, offering free drink vouchers at participating breweries for those who agree to get vaccinated.
“We’re going to do more people today at our first-dose clinics than most of our first-dose clinics in the last week combined,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who was nursing his own drink in one hand while directing vaccine recipients to an open table with the other.
Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein, who was also on-site to vaccinate individuals, said she walked from table to table earlier in the day to recruit people who hadn’t gotten vaccinated yet.
County leaders hope the vaccine-for-beer effort will attract younger residents, particularly those in their 20s and 30s.
Morsch, who had picked up his free beer at the bar after getting vaccinated with a friend, said he got the shot for more peace of mind when visiting his family and traveling.
But he acknowledged that among younger people, there’s a sense of invincibility that makes them slower to seek out the vaccine.
“This is the best way to do it,” he said. “Bring some fun into it.”
Sandra Tan writes for The Buffalo News. This story is part of the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. It originally appeared online here.
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