Nintendo Switch, Free Hotel Stay Among Prizes For Getting Vaccine

LONG BEACH, CA — Officials in Long Beach are offering the chance to win a Nintendo Switch or a two-night stay at a local hotel to induce residents who haven't yet received the coronavirus shot to step up.

Any resident who receives their first dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or their one and only dose of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine through Saturday at any city-run vaccination site will have a shot at winning a prize. It's an incentive that aims to coax the vaccine-hesitant as well young people newly eligible for the vaccine.

Anyone under the age of 18 will require parental consent to get the shot.

"We are going to continue to provide incentives and new ideas to get residents vaccinated," Mayor Robert Garcia said. "We continue to vaccinate folks every day and these drawings are another way of reaching different populations."

Participating hotels include Hilton Long Beach, Marriott Long Beach, Hotel Maya, Golden Sails Hotel, The Westin Long Beach, Renaissance Long Beach Hotel and Staybridge Suites Long Beach Airport.

Drawings will take place daily and winners will be notified by phone and/or email. Winning prizes can be picked up or delivered by mail.

Last week, the city offered two free tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific to anyone receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine. That incentive expired Saturday.

A total of 53,223 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Long Beach, which has its own health department. The city has also logged 934 deaths from the virus, according to figures released Monday that cover data recorded as of Friday.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.