Get a COVID shot at State Fair, walk away with $100 reward

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesotans who get their first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the Minnesota State Fair can walk away with a $100 Visa gift card.

Gov. Tim Walz announced the State Fair edition of the state’s $100 reward program Wednesday. The first 3,600 Minnesotans to get their first dose at the fair can claim their gift cards immediately afterward.

“If you’ve waited to get your shot, there’s never been a better opportunity,” Walz said in a statement.

The State Fair deal follows a just-concluded $100 incentive program that saw nearly 80,000 Minnesotans claim gift cards.

Health officials on Tuesday said they’re nervous about the large crowds expected at fair as the highly contagious delta variant circulates statewide. Minnesota’s is one of several Midwest state fairs that have offered free vaccinations. Minnesota fair officials are strongly encouraging face masks and vaccinations, but have declined to require them.

The free shots will be offered at a clinic in the North End Event Center throughout the fair, which opens Thursday and runs through Labor Day. It’ll be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and through 8 p.m. Labor Day. Walk-ins are welcome, or fairgoers can make appointments at https://my.primary.health/r/statefair.

Anyone 12 or older who needs their first or second dose can get vaccinated at the clinic, which offers both the two-shot Pfizer and single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Only Minnesotans receiving their first dose qualify for the reward.