WKU students optimistic the vaccine incentive will encourage others to get it

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Many states and universities have announced vaccine incentives for those who get the COVID-19 vaccine.

This includes Western Kentucky University, WBKO News spoke with some school officials and students to get their thoughts about the incentive.

“We hope that it encourages the WKU community to get vaccinated,” says Dr. Jace Lux, the Director of Media Relations at WKU.

The incentive is trying to encourage students, faculty, and staff to get the vaccine.

“A program for any faculty, staff or, students to just log in and tell us their vaccination status, and for individuals who are vaccinated, they’re eligible to win some prizes from WKU,” adds Dr. Lux.

Some students think the incentive idea is great.

“It’ll make people want to get vaccinated way more now because saying that there was something that they can win, or like something they can benefit from will make them want to go out and get vaccinated even more now if they were unsure about it,” says WKU student, Jamar Mundy-Schnepp.

Michael Thompson, another WKU student says, “I think it’s a good idea because I think it’ll motivate people to get it, especially by getting prizes and stuff. Like, I think that would just make people feel better about it, maybe safer.”

One WKU student, Chase Kie says he has yet to get the vaccine, but “I think it’ll definitely encourage people to get vaccinated. I myself don’t have one, but like, it helps, like encouraged me to.”

Caitlyn Combs another WKU student is all for the idea, “I think it’s an amazing idea because it encourages more students to get vaccinated which I cannot express how important it is to get vaccinated, and how everyone really should if they can.”

So what are some of the prizes?

“So on the student side, we have everything ranging from dining dollars and WKU store gift cards to iPads, and for five lucky students, we’re even giving away a full semester in-state tuition scholarships. On the faculty and staff side, we have a number of $1,000 checks that we’ll be giving to eligible individuals, as well as iPads and gift cards,” says Dr. Lux.

For Combs, this goes beyond the incentive, seeing COVID-19 first hand, “I actually work at the Medical Center here in Bowling Green, and the last, my last four shifts, I’ve gone home sobbing because our hospital is just, it’s, it’s a nightmare.”

WKU hopes this will also help them as they relaunch the COVID dashboard this week.

“We also hope that this incentive program gives us and our COVID task force a little bit better sense of what percentage of the WKU family is vaccinated versus what percentage is unvaccinated,” added Lux.

Dr. Lux also says if you haven’t gotten the vaccine and later on do, you can change the status and sign up for the incentive by clicking here.

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