Philadelphia reaches target of 70% adults vaccinated at least once

Philadelphia has reached a major milestone in its vaccination efforts.

One zip code, six winners and thousands of dollars. People in East Oak Lane won big in the city’s first drawing of the Philly vax sweepstakes.

"That’s very good. Very nice. I wish that I was one of them," stated Jean Larose.

Citywide, there are 12 winners total taking home as much as $50,000, if they can prove they’ve been vaccinated.

"It’s exciting! For one, I think it’s really good to hear people got vaccinated and incentives worked to encourage people to get vaccinated," explained Brittney Anderson.

Rob Green sated, "Money is the motivator. I don’t see why it wouldn’t help with the vaccination rate. It wasn’t me that won it, though. I was vaccinated back in March."

FOX 29’s Jennifer Joyce spoke with several people Monday and found no winners. But, people were encouraged to learn 70 percent of people in Philadelphia have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with Mayor Jim Kenney jumping on Twitter to share his excitement about reaching President Biden’s vaccination goal.

Important progress as the city’s interim health commissioner warns of the COVID-19 delta variant, while not yet in Philly, but rapidly increasing case counts and hospitalizations in parts of the U.S., hitting young, unvaccinated people especially hard.

"The threat hasn’t gone anywhere. I do feel that it’s a shame we have to entice individuals to protect one another," Sterling Peacock remarked.

"I wish everybody, all Philadelphians, were vaccinated. That would make me feel safer, happier and more free, to tell you the truth," Larose added.

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