The Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D'Iberville, Mississippi (pictured), is attempting to address two of the biggest topics of discussion in America today: vaccine hesitancy and economic stimulus in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
According to local media reports, getting vaccinated against Covid is mandatory for all members of management at the casino, which is located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, near Biloxi.
In an effort to nudge employees who might not want to get the shot, the Scarlet Pearl is offering a cash incentive: $150 per shot, up to $300 for staffers who take either of the two vaccines approved for use in the US that require two doses.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the version produced by Moderna need two shots for full coverage against Covid. The newly approved vaccine from Johnson & Johnson requires a single shot.
Management at the Scarlet Pearl is giving staffers leave to go get vaccinated.
According to an item in the Biloxi Sun Herald, the goal of the vaccination incentive program is to lessen the impact of the pandemic on the resort, its employees and visitors.
The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show 98.2m doses of vaccine have been administered in the US through 11 March. Some 10.2% of the population has been fully vaccinated, while 19.3% have received at least one dose of vaccine.
Mississippi has administered a total of 823,691 doses, with 302,524 people fully vaccinated and 534,573 getting at least one dose.
