According to the City of Corpus Christi Data Dashboard over 66,000 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in Nueces County alone since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is aiming to decrease the spread of the coronavirus in the community by offering prizes to fully vaccinated staff and students. On Monday October 4, Dr. Kelly M. Miller, President and CEO of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, announced the opening of the registration for the TAMU-CC COVID-19 Vaccination Incentive Program. Many TAMU-CC students and faculty applaud the university for conducting the COVID-19 Vaccine Incentive Program as a way to protect the health of Islanders. Shelley Martinez-Lopez RN, the Associate Director of the TAMU-CC University Health Center, highlighted that the program may help students enjoy a more “normal” college experience. Shelley stated “Hopefully, the program will encourage more of our campus community members to get vaccinated. By doing so, it would help decrease the spread of the virus not only here on our campus but in our local community as well. I also believe that if more are vaccinated, it will help open the door for more college-experience opportunities for our Islander students. We all want to return to some sort of “normal” and I feel that this program is definitely a step in the right direction to get us there.” 

Do you think the COVID-19 vaccine should be mandated for TAMU-CC staff and students?

• Yes, the vaccine should be mandated for both staff and students.
• The vaccine should only be mandated for staff.
• The vaccine should only be mandated for students.
• No, the vaccine should not be mandated for staff or students.

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The director of the TAMU-CC University Health Center Zelda Y. Chacon MSN, FNP-BC explained the importance of achieving herd immunity to decrease the spread of COVID-19 and stated “as of October 10, 2021 Texas has 51.9% of its population fully vaccinated. In order to stop this pandemic and bring us all back to a new normal, we need large organizations such as TAMU-CC to lead the effort in increasing vaccination rates in Texas beginning with our campus community. Herd immunity is the only way to reach that new normal and experts estimate that with the Delta variant, upwards of 80% of the population would need to be fully vaccinated to achieve that. TAMU-CC is contributing to achieving herd immunity by utilizing vaccination incentives to support COVID-19 vaccination in students and faculty.”

To encourage students and staff to consider receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, many exciting prizes will be rewarded including free personal training sessions, noise canceling headphones, meal plans, grocery store gift cards, and $50 credits applied to the winner’s Sandollar$ identification card. Additionally, participants may win tickets to fun events such as the Rockin K Farms, A Midsummer Night’s Dream play, the Islander Dance Demo, and more. Sophie Flower, a graduate student pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing at TAMU-CC, shared that “rewarding students and faculty for receiving the vaccine is a great way to boost vaccination rates and prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is so important to get vaccinated to protect yourself and others from getting ill or dying from a virus that’s so easily preventable.”

Registration for the TAMU-CC COVID-19 Vaccination Incentive Program is available until November 30, 2021. Be sure to register and participate to help keep the Islander community healthy at: https://www.tamucc.edu/campus-guide/vaccine-incentive-program.php