No Cash For COVID-19 Vaccines In Tarrant County Week After Judge Floated Idea
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Don't get your wallet out.
Cash for a COVID-19 shot isn't happening in Tarrant County - at least not yet.
County Judge Glen Whitley held off on the idea Tuesday, May 4, which he had floated as a potential incentive to increase vaccination numbers.
Vaccine interest has dropped rapidly over the last two weeks, with calls to the vaccine hotline off more than 50%, and vaccination sites seeing as many people in day as they used to handle in an hour.
Whitley had suggested paying people $50 to get a shot.
However he said Tuesday, the District Attorney's Office advised it may run afoul of a federal law, prohibiting paying people to receive federal services.
"If it's illegal it's illegal and I'm not going to try to play games with that," Whitley said. "If the government wants to come back and say we can do it then I'm all for sitting down with our staff."
Whitley said the National Association of Counties was involved in discussion with federal authorities about potentially relaxing or rewriting the rule.