How to get $100 in Columbus City Council’s ‘Vaccine Green’ program

Courtesy of FOX 28
By Haley Nelson
June 14, 2021

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The “Vaccine Green” program was unanimously approved by Columbus City Council Monday night.

“Take care of the folks who have to make a decision between keeping themselves healthy and working and putting food on the table, this is not an incentive program,” Council President Shannon Hardin said.

That means $100 for any Columbus resident that gets vaccinated against COVID-19, before funds run out.

Council members said the $275,000 from the Neighborhood Initiatives Subfund is intended to break down barriers, maybe for people with no paid time off.

“There are also fears for some workers about short term side effects that may interfere with their return to work,” Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown said.

It continues work being done during the pandemic by the Columbus Urban League.

“So that we can remove any barriers for anybody who might be hesitating because of vaccine hesitancy, let’s try to incentivize them and say, ‘hey, if you need to take off work you know you’ve got $50 a shot that is going to come in or a total of a $100’,” CUL President Stephanie Hightower said.

The team has launched a section on their website where you can apply.

Hightower said you will get a card same as cash: $50 per vaccination, or $100 for the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“It is really going to be one of those quick turn arounds. It is not going to be you are waiting 3, 4 weeks and that kind of stuff. We are not about that we believe if people sign up with us, we know they are asking for that money for a reason,” she said.

If you do the math, $100 for everybody out of $275,000 total reaches about 2,750 people, if everybody gets fully vaccinated.

ABC6/FOX28 asked if this could actually have an impact.

“That is still a lot of people and the hope is that with these 2,750 people that once they are able to say to some of their folks ‘I have gotten the vaccine’ hopefully, it will incentivize other people in their families friends neighbors,” said Hightower.

You can read the full text about the vaccine green plan here