Second donation funds cash incentive for COVID-19 vaccinations in Yellowstone County

BILLINGS – On Thursday May 20, 2021 between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the Shrine Auditorium, 1125 Broadwater Ave, residents of Yellowstone County may receive their first COVID-19 vaccination, and will also receive $50.00 from an anonymous third-party donor.

The anonymous donor recognized the public health need to increase vaccination numbers in the community. This offer is limited to the first 400 residents ages 12 and older who are receiving their first vaccination.

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be administered. The hours are designed to accommodate students whose parents want them to be vaccinated.

This COVID-19 vaccination event is organized by Yellowstone County’s Unified Health Command, as part of Yellowstone County’s public health response to COVID-19. The vaccinations are free, and insurance won’t be billed. Tweens, teens and adults don’t need appointments. Just walk in between 1 and 7 p.m. this Thursday.

Last week, on May 13, 2021, an anonymous donor funded incentives of $50 to each of the first 400 people who were vaccinated. A total of nearly 570 vaccinations were administered that day at the Shrine Auditorium.

A second donor, who also wants to remain anonymous, has stepped forward with $20,000 to match the May 13 donor’s gift.

“This latest donation was spurred by the success of the donor’s incentives last week,” said Kristie Asay, executive director of RiverStone Health Foundation, a nonprofit corporation. “She wants to keep the vaccination momentum going and asked RiverStone Health Foundation to be the vehicle for administering her generous donation to the community.”

This event coincides with approval last week of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to protect children as young as 12.

Anyone under age 18 will need to have a COVID-19 vaccination consent form signed by a parent or guardian. Consent forms are available at the Shrine Auditorium and can be printed out from the website covid.riverstonehealth.org under “vaccination.”

Masks are required in the Shrine Auditorium. People need to remain for 15 minutes following their COVID-19 vaccination.

The Pfizer vaccine, which is the only COVID-19 vaccine currently approved for people under age 18 and requires two doses. People receiving their first dose on Thursday, May 20, 2021 will need to return to the Shrine between 1 and 7 p.m. on June 10 for their second dose. Parental consent will be required for each dose given to people under age 18.