Major League Baseball is working with its 30 clubs to offer incentives to unvaccinated fans through a new ‘MLB Vaccinate At The Plate’ programme, which will run throughout June.
Each club will host at least one event in June where unvaccinated fans will be able to receive a free ticket to a game if they receive a COVID-19 vaccination at the event.
Clubs will be able to construct the giveaway to their own specifications including where the event is hosted, when it takes place in June, and whether tickets will apply for that day’s game or a game later in the season.
Teams will work with a local healthcare provider or a national pharmacy provider to administer the shots and provide necessary on-site health and safety precautions. Information about the initiative and each club’s events can be found at MLB.com/vaccine.
Gary Green, medical director at MLB, said: “Major League Baseball wants to play a role in expanding widespread adoption of the vaccines which have proven to be safe and effective.
“As more people get vaccinated, the rate of infection decreases and more areas of society can safely reopen. We are proud of the efforts MLB clubs are taking to help in this effort.”
A number of MLB ballparks have been utilised as mass vaccination sites over the course of the pandemic, administering a total of more than one million shots. Since the start of last season, MLB and its clubs have also provided over 1.5 million COVID-19 PCR tests for schools, youth academies, charities and the general public at stadiums across the US.
MLB said that 85.2% of Tier 1 individuals, such as players, managers, coaches and other staff, have now been partially or fully vaccinated. Several teams are either opening stadiums at full capacity or plan to do so in the coming weeks as infection rates fall across the US and the vaccination roll-out continues.
Image: Matt Hecht
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