COVID-19 vaccination rates in Albany County are picking up slowly. County public health officials took advantage of the last Wyoming football game to get more people to take the shot. The county has been working to get as many people as possible vaccinated, and for nurse Sherrie Rubio-Wallace, what better place to do this than at the opening football game of the Wyoming Cowboys.
"This is a great opportunity to see a lot of people and get the word out that we're still giving vaccines, and giving an opportunity to vaccinate someone who may not have had a chance yet," she said.
Despite rising numbers of vaccine hesitancy some of the fans volunteered to get the jab. Cowboy fans like a mother of two from Denver, Colorado, agreed to the vaccine because it was convenient.
"So today, because it was available here, was one reason. I've been thinking about getting it," she said "I'm pregnant so I've been weighing the pros and cons of it, and I just decided that the risk was definitely worth it; even if there are risks to getting the vaccine, I'd' rather get it than get especially the Delta variant."
Others, like a Laramie woman, were concerned about what they would be unable to do if they were unvaccinated. "It's responsible to get the vaccine, and also you kind of need it to go places and I wanted to travel, and you can't travel without the vaccine."
The county is also incentivizing those who wish to get vaccinated. County health official Kim Maturi said, "We are offering gift cards to downtown Laramie businesses, $25 for the first shot and $25 for the second shot, while those who get the one shot of the Johnson and Johnson they would get $50. All these we believe will motivate people to get vaccinated in the long run for sure."
Albany County Public Health says it's planning to continue game-day vaccine clinics for the foreseeable future.
