Vaccine Freebies: Auburn Site Offers Gift Cards For 1st Doses

RENTON, WA — King County's mass vaccination site located at the Auburn Outlet Collection is adding an extra incentive to get COVID-19 immunizations Thursday. According to Public Health - Seattle & King County, the Auburn clinic will hand out $10 Dave and Busters gift cards to the first 250 people who come in for first doses, starting at 2 p.m.

While appointments are still welcome, they are no longer required, and walk-ins are welcome Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Auburn site stocks all three approved COVID-19 vaccines, including the single-dose Johnson & Johnson. Appointments are available to all King County residents ages 16 and older. Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for 16 and 17-year-olds.

The gift card giveaway comes as state and local health officials push for more residents under 65 to get vaccinated, as supply levels are now healthy enough to support large-scale immunizations. While more than 90 percent of King County's oldest adults now have a first dose, the rate is much lower for young and middle-aged people, who only became broadly eligible in the last three weeks. The younger groups now make up the bulk of new infections and hospitalizations amid a variant-driven fourth wave.

Gov. Jay Inslee called a two-week pause on rollbacks Tuesday, and officials hope that is enough time for more people to get vaccinated and drive down the coronavirus metrics. Currently, King County still sits above both thresholds to remain in Phase 3 and could face a rollback when the pause is lifted unless the numbers come down.

"The two-week pause provides time to see which direction we are heading and whether we are turning the corner on the fourth wave, while we continue to do everything we possibly can to get more people vaccinated — especially younger adults — to decrease future risk," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for King County. "Our best path out of the painful cycle of COVID-19 resurgences and restrictions — and for a return to normalcy as quickly as possible — is by getting vaccinated as soon as possible."

Learn more about getting vaccinated in King County on the public health website.