Mayor Steven Fulop is teaming up with Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning” show to incentivize Jersey City teens to get vaccinated. The result is a contest dubbed the Jersey City Summer Jam contest.
Through August 14, the two Jersey City public high schools with the highest vaccination rate will win tickets to the Hot 97 Summer Jam concert at MetLife Stadium for the entire vaccinated student body. (The concert is on Sunday, August 25). In addition, families accompanying a student to a vaccine site will earn a $50 Shoprite gift card. The contest is open to all nine JC public schools.
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“Most vaccine incentive programs are not geared towards our youth where there is a significant vaccination gap nationwide,” said Fulop. “That’s why we’re taking a different approach with Summer Jam, to create positive peer pressure and meet teens where they are to really incentivize them with major prizes that are specifically appealing to their age group.”
Vaccination rates among teenagers are lagging in Jersey City at below 50% compared to Jersey City as a whole, which is over 70%. The goal of the Jersey City Summer Jam contest is to increase access and incentives specifically for teenagers, the least vaccinated age group in the U.S.
