PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council members are pushing two new bills in the final meetings before summer recess to encourage more Philadelphians to get vaccinated.
Council President Darrell Clarke and Councilmember Cindy Bass introduced one measure to offer up to 100,000 Philadelphians a $50 credit on their water or gas bill if they get vaccinated.
The other measure they introduced would give those citizens a $50 gift certificate redeemable in some way yet to be determined.
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Clarke said there would be a deadline for taking the offer. It would be limited to 100,000 people, meaning the price tag could go as high as $5 million.
The Council president also said he believes the city can get federal reimbursement, but even if the money comes from city coffers, he thinks it’s a worthwhile investment.
“If we can move the needle, no pun intended, by getting people to get that vaccination in their arm and get to the level of herd immunity that gets us back to some sense of normalcy, then that’s something I think we need to do,” he said.