President Joe Biden has declared June a "national month of action," laying out further efforts to meet his deadline of 70 percent of U.S. adults vaccinated against COVID-19 by July 4.
During a June 2 White House news briefing, President Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and implored Americans to encourage others to do so as well.
The "national month of action" will include the following initiatives:
Improving vaccine ease and equity
1. Four of the largest U.S. child care providers will offer free care to all caregivers getting vaccinated or recovering from vaccination until July 4.
2. Pharmacies across the U.S. will have extended hours in June. Participating pharmacy chains include Albertsons, CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens.
Mobilizing Americans to do more vaccination education and outreach
3. The Biden administration will call and text people in areas with low vaccination rates and canvas neighborhoods near walk-in clinics. More than 100 organizations have committed to host more than 1,000 events during the first weekend of June alone.
4. Vice President Kamala Harris will lead a national vaccination tour to energize and mobilize grassroots vaccine education and outreach efforts. Her travel will be anchored in the South.
5. Mayors can elect to join the "Mayors Challenge," a competition to see which city can grow its vaccination rate the most by July 4. More than 50 mayors have already opted in.
6. The White House has partnered with the Black Coalition Against COVID, Baltimore-based University of Maryland Center for Health Equity and SheaMoisture to launch "Shots at the Shop," an initiative that will engage Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons to support local vaccine education and outreach.
7. The National Association of Broadcasters will have local stations air vaccine education segments featuring trusted voices from the community, as well as medical professionals from prominent medical associations.
8. Universities can pledge to get students vaccinated by joining the COVID-19 College Challenge.
Incentivizing vaccination
9. Thousands of employers and businesses are offering incentives for vaccinations and providing workers paid-leave for vaccinations. Americans can find a list of incentives here. Examples include:
- Anheuser-Busch will give away free beer to all adults over the age of 21 on July 4 to celebrate the nation's progress fighting COVID-19.
- CVS launched a sweepstakes for vaccinated people to win free cruises, tickets to Super Bowl LVI and cash prizes.
- DoorDash will give $2 million in gift cards to the National Association of Community Health Centers to incentivize vaccinations.
- Major League Baseball teams will offer on-site vaccinations at games and give free tickets to those who get vaccinated.
- United Airlines launched a sweepstakes for Mileage Plus members to win a year of free flights or a roundtrip for two.
As of June 2, 62.9 percent of adult Americans have gotten at least one vaccine dose, with 48.6 percent fully inoculated, reports the CDC.