Immunity and bank account booster: New Yorkers to be paid for third COVID-19 shot

On December 21, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new “tempting” vaccination deal. $ 100 for everyone who gets the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year, reports NY Daily News.

The Mayor said the $ 100 bonus is available to anyone who gets boosted at vaccination sites operated by the City Department of Health and SOMOS Community Care.

The money is issued in the form of prepaid debit cards, in electronic or physical form. They will be available until December 31 - the last day of work de Blasio at the post of the head of the city.

Efforts are focused on increasing vaccinations as the city has become a COVID-19 hotspot again. An extremely infectious strain of omicron already accounts for about 90% of new cases in New York City.

Testing queues

New Yorkers wishing to take a coronavirus test have to wait in lines for 3-5 hours. They blame the mayor for the situation. The fact is that the resumption of mass testing in the city came after the de Blasio administration closed 20 of the city's 54 testing centers. De Blasio announced on December 20 that the city will open 23 new properties to meet growing demand.

On the subject: All private employers in New York ordered to vaccinate employees

In addition to long queues for material collection, at some points there are problems with obtaining test results. State Attorney General Laetitia James sent a letter to QLab Diagnostics on December 21. This is a private laboratory that the city has contracted with. The letter said that New Yorkers had been waiting for their results for more than 96 hours. Although earlier the company promised to issue them within 48 hours.

"Misleading statements about when people should expect COVID-19 test results are especially unacceptable during the holiday season as many people rely on these results to make decisions about whether they can travel or attend family gatherings." - wrote James in a letter. She added that she expects QLab to "immediately" update its advertisements and signs "to accurately reflect how long people have to wait before receiving COVID-19 test results."

Following the letter, James LabQ added a bright yellow banner to its website: "Due to the significant increase in the number of COVID tests, please be prepared to wait 1 to 4 days for results."