This fall, when Alabama tries to slow the spread of COVID-19, if college football fans are vaccinated on game day under a new initiative, they will be able to collect $75 gift cards for college bookstores.
The Alabama Department of Public Health announced the KICK COVID on Thursday. The plan includes providing vaccinations and testing points at certain games, player appearances at promotional events, and gift card gifts in an effort to vaccinate the crowd.
“In Alabama, we all know our love for football,” said Gene Hallman, president and co-owner of Bruno Event Team, a sports event management company that works with the program.
The program will be available in the University of Alabama and Auburn University competitions on September 25, as well as some competitions in September and October.
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“We think that the core of this project is college football and the players themselves—speaking in their own sincere voices—inviting their fans and classmates to get vaccinated.”
State health officer Scott Harris said he hopes that in a state where college football is a major event for people on weekends, it can increase vaccination rates. Alabama is one of the states with the lowest vaccination rate in the country. The percentage of fully vaccinated population ranks bottom among the states, and the percentage of partially vaccinated population ranks bottom 10.
“I think this may not apply to every state in the league, but in the South, especially in Alabama, college football is such an important part of everyone’s life… I think we have a very good This is a very successful plan.”
Holman said the $75 gift card in the campus bookstore is a way to say “thank you” to newly vaccinated people. The plan is the state’s first monetary reward for vaccination, although locals and universities have provided such freebies.
People can get vaccinated at the KICK COVID vaccination spot on the game day selected by the team, or get the first dose two weeks before the game and upload the vaccination card to the KICK COVID website to get a gift card worth $75 from the campus bookstore. Only vaccines that start within 14 days of the selected match day are eligible.
Harris said that the Alabama Department of Public Health is using income from multiple sources to fund the program.
This is not the first time that football has been used as a tool to urge vaccination.
Alabama football coach Nick Saban and others in the sports world recorded a public service announcement earlier this year to encourage Alabamas to get COVID-19 vaccinations.
“This fall, college fans and players hope that the stadium will be full. Let us make sure that we can achieve this goal safely through vaccination. Please get the COVID-19 vaccine,” Saban said on the spot. “We hope that the Kobe Danny Stadium will be loud and rolling again next season!”
