CHESAPEAKE, Va. — COVID-19 vaccinations are slowly but surely ticking up in Virginia.
By March, health officials report 72% of people across the state had gotten fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 81% have received at least one dose.
Chesapeake Health officials and community members are taking a new approach in the hopes of getting more people vaccinated.
On Wednesday, leaders at The Mount at Chesapeake Church opened the Signet Community Center doors in hopes of providing people the opportunity to get a COVID-19 vaccine -- and a little something extra.
“I am so happy to be part of a community that thinks about others in this manner," Nichole Wilder-Brown said.
Wilder-Brown said she left work to get her COVID-19 booster shot, and after getting the vaccine, organizers handed her a $25.00 gift card for gas.
“It’s very much needed. So I'm excited about it. I'm going to fill up as much as I can with it," she said. "So it really helpful to me and my family."
Leaders with the Virginia Department of Health, Chesapeake Health Department and the church set up the event to offer incentives for people to get vaccinated.
“We know that COVID case numbers are decreasing. But COVID is still very much part of our community, and it’s still very transmissible," said Shannon Etheridge, chief of staff at The Mount at Chesapeake.
About 100 people at the clinic received a gas gift card.
“It’s a double blessing," Etheridge said.
Some people call the gift card a great incentive. But they say getting the COVID-19 vaccine is more important.
“You know a gift card doesn’t match up to your life. You know, be around your family members and the people that you love. Get the booster shot," said Dorian Rogers, who was there to get a booster dose.
The Mount Church organizers said they were working on planning more events to help people get free gas.
Officials with the church said their congregation has not met for an in-person service in two years due to the pandemic.
Their first service back in the building will happen on the first Sunday in April.