Framingham To Offer Gift Cards To Encourage Vaccinations

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham has mounted a new program to encourage people to get vaccinated against coronavirus: gift cards to local grocery stores.

Starting this week, the $25 cards will be handed out the city's walk-in vaccine clinic at the health department to people who get coronavirus shots. Many other communities have also been giving out gift cards to increase vaccination rates as the delta variant has taken hold this summer.

As of Wednesday, just over 50,400 of the city's 72,362 residents had been full vaccinated. Another 6,000 are partially vaccinated.

Framingham will also attempt to boost vaccine rates in city schools this fall. There will be vaccine clinics in September at Cameron, Walsh and Fuller middle schools, Keefe Tech and Framingham High School.

The Framingham Health Department's walk-in vaccine clinic is open weekdays 8:30 to 10 a.m., and 4 to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The clinic is located at 113 Concord St.