On 17th August, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced to give a $100 incentive to those residents who receive their first coronavirus vaccine dose at any county-run site. According to Lina, the number of initial dose vaccinations in the region soared by thousand since the announcement of the program.

NEW: Starting today, anyone who gets their COVID-19 vaccine at a Harris County Public Health site will receive $100, no strings attached. If you’re unvaccinated, now is the time to step up. More at https://t.co/iz9aroQu36 or 832-927-8787.

— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) August 17, 2021

Before the announcement of cash incentives, the Harris County Public Health Department was only administering around 430 first vaccination shots per day. However, on the same day of the announcement, the number of first shots doubled to 914. With the increasing trend, more than twenty-seven hundred people received their first dose on 21st August, an increase of 529%.

During the press conference on 24th August, Hidalgo said that the county observed an overwhelming response to the previously announced incentive program over the past week. Further, she adds that the current vaccination rate is a win for the residents of Harris County, and a much-needed boost to the health care staff members working day and night facing needless tragedy in their hospitals, and boost for several families that continue to fight with COVID-19. American Rescue Plan Act funded the cash incentive.

Shifting of Vaccination Site due to the Overwhelming Demand

The NRG Park vaccination site shifted to Dick Graves Park, located on 2000 Reed Road, because of the overwhelming demand for mass vaccinations. Moreover, the facility will start working on 26th August. The initiative of the administration will help to administer eighteen hundred first vaccine shots and twenty-five hundred total vaccines every day.

Additionally, the location offers a bigger capacity for inoculation shots for people than NRG Park. Starting Tuesday, a new mass-vaccination facility will start at Panther Stadium in Sheldon ISD situated at 11411 C.E. Furthermore, the vaccination site has the capacity to offer fifteen hundred vaccines daily and will be open from 09:00 am to 07:00 pm., Tuesday to Sunday.

In the same way, the mobile vaccination units will also increase the capacity of vaccination to where they can offer forty-six hundred first shots and seventy-six hundred total daily doses all over the sites. According to the latest statistics of Harris County Public Health, over 2.2 million citizens received full vaccination.

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