DC giving away AirPods to encourage youth vaccinations

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced Saturday that the city would give away AirPods, gift cards and thousands of dollars in scholarship money as incentives to get more adolescents and teens vaccinated.

Bowser said in a tweet that those ages 12-17 who get their first COVID-19 shot at one of three sites would get either a set of AirPods or a $51 gift card, a nod to the push to make D.C. the 51st U.S. state.

Adolescents also have a chance at winning $25,000 in scholarship money or an iPad and headphones, the mayor said.

Starting today at 10 am, DC youth (12-17) who get vaccinated at:

Brookland MS
Sousa MS
Johnson MS

Will receive AirPods with their first shot and a chance to win a:

$25,000 scholarship
iPad and headphones#TakeTheShotDC pic.twitter.com/BIAH7Hgs7m

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 7, 2021

Bowser is among a host of state and local leaders who have used various incentives in recent months in an attempt to boost vaccination numbers.

In early June, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced that his state would give out cash prizes, firearms and trucks to those who got vaccinated.

Cash prizes have also been introduced in states like Maryland, Michigan and Ohio. 

A sizable amount of D.C.’s population has received the shot. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, about 70 percent of the District’s residents have been fully vaccinated.

Despite this, the District is seeing an upward trend in the number of new COVID-19 cases. 

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), D.C. saw 128 new cases on Friday. It’s a stark contrast to the single-digit and low double-digit numbers of new cases that the city was seeing in late June and early July.

Due to elevated levels of COVID-19 transmission, Bowser announced last week that D.C. would reimplement its indoor mask mandate.