County to offer incentive for kids who get vaccination
Milam County will now offer an incentive to children between 12 and 17 years of age if they get vaccinated.
On Monday, the Milam County Commissioners Court unanimously approved awarding each Milam County child between the ages of 12 and 17 a monetary incentive of $250 per child to get fully vaccinated.
“By doing this Milam County becomes the first county in Texas to take such progressive action to get children vaccinated,” Milam County Judge Steve Young said. “Getting the children vaccinated is essential to ending the pandemic.”
The cost of the incentive will be paid for with funds the county received from the American Rescue Plan Act.
There are approximately 2,400 children in Milam County between the ages of 12-17 years of age.
“Children who are fully vaccinated are protected from becoming seriously ill or dying from the virus; do not have to quarantine if they come into close contact with an infected person, meaning they can stay in school and participate in extracurricular activities; and the educators and administrators are better protected from the virus,” Young said. “Today, many children get infected because they are not vaccinated. Of those infected, 33 percent are placed in intensive care and five percent of those are placed on a ventilator. So it is simply essential that our children get vaccinated.”
Children between the ages of 12-16 must be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine and those over 16 years of age can be vaccinated with either drug.
The county will run a special children’s clinic at the Milam County Health Department on Thursday, June 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the primary intent of vaccinating children. Additional clinics are planned for next week.
To be eligible for the incentive, the child must be between the ages of 12 and 17; must be a Milam County resident; and must be fully vaccinated, meaning they must have received both shots. Once the requirements are met, the parent(s) will receive a check from Milam County.
“Throughout the pandemic Milam County has truly led the way to end the COVID-19 virus,” Young said. “Milam County was the first to provide free testing for its residents; the first rural county to provide mass vaccination clinics; and now the first county to offer an incentive to get children fully vaccinated. We ask every Milam County parent to get on board with the court and bring their eligible children in to get vaccinated. Let’s stop this pandemic.”