Gift cards offered to Detroit-area hospitality, retail workers getting vaccinated at Clark Park on May 14

First 400 workers vaccinated will receive $25 Visa gift card

Licensed practical nurse Adrian McCain prepares a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at a Montgomery County Office of Public Health vaccination clinic at the King of Prussia Mall, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in King of Prussia, Pa., (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (Matt Slocum, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

DETROIT – The first 400 Detroit-area hospitality and retail workers getting vaccinated at Clark Park on Friday can receive a $25 Visa gift card as part of a new statewide “shots in arms” incentive campaign.

The vaccination clinic will be open 2-7 p.m. on May 14 at 1130 Clark Street in Detroit.

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  • Walk-ins are welcome, so no appointment is necessary.
  • Transportation, Spanish-language interpreters and wheelchair-accessible accommodations are available if needed. For information, call the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) at 866-962-5515.
  • Proof of health insurance is not required.
  • Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer doses are available.
  • The City of Detroit Health Department will administer the vaccines Friday. For questions, contact the City of Detroit’s Covid-19 Hotline 313-876-4000 and the Detroit Health Department COVID-19 at dhdoutbreak@detroitmi.gov.

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The campaign was announced in partnership with Protect Michigan Commission, the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) and the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA).

“The best way to ensure Michigan’s hospitality, retail and restaurant industries can get back to normal is by ensuring the workers in those industries get their COVID-19 vaccinations so they can get back to normal,” said Protect Michigan Commission Director Kerry Ebersole Singh.

“Getting their shots in arms also is the best way to let their customers know they can be confident that it’s safe to return and enjoy shopping, dining and relaxing at their favorite businesses.”

Officials said Friday’s event is the first in a series of vaccination clinics hosted by the organizations across the state.

READ: Michigan reaches first of state’s vaccine milestones -- in-person work can resume May 24

The clinics will focus on offering free COVID vaccines to workers and their families in May and June at times, dates and locations in Lansing/East Lansing, Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor, Royal Oak/Birmingham/Ferndale, Marquette, Traverse City, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

“We are excited to promote this partnership in order to provide new and more convenient avenues for restaurants and hotels to inspire and incentivize greater vaccination rates of all Michiganders so that we may quickly move past the era of capacity limits and gathering restrictions,” said MRLA President and CEO Justin Winslow. “There are 17,000 embattled restaurants and hotels, approximately 400,000 hospitality jobs, and a much-needed upcoming summer tourism season hanging in the balance – so please join us for these no fuss, walk-up clinics designed just for the hospitality industry.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on Monday that Michigan reached the first of the state’s vaccination milestones, meaning in-person work will be allowed to resume beginning May 24.

As of Monday, 55% of Michiganders have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Whitmer said. That’s the first of four vaccine-based reopening thresholds the state established late last month.

Friday’s Detroit event is cosponsored by the Mexican Hubbard Communities Main Street Program, Southwest Detroit Business Association, Clark Park Coalition Detroit, West Vernon and Springwells Business Improvement District, the City of Detroit and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).


About the Author

DeJanay Booth joined WDIV as a web producer in July 2020. She previously worked as a news reporter in New Mexico before moving back to Michigan.

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