Will tickets to Bad Bunny or Harry Styles get young people vaccinated?
With less than 55 percent of Santa Clara County residents between the ages of 12 and 17 vaccinated, county leaders are trying a new tactic to get shots into more young arms: Make vaccination the pathway to having an awesome time with your friends. An initiative announced Wednesday will raffle off more than 100 tickets to upcoming events to teens who gets a COVID-19 vaccine at specific sites run by the county over the next few weeks. The prizes include tickets to SAP Center concerts by Bad Bunny, Harry Styles, the Weeknd and Justin Bieber as well as Golden State Warriors games at Chase Center in San Francisco, a Steph Curry-autographed ball and a Klay Thompson-autographed jersey. Eight to 10 winners  getting two tickets each to that weeks events  will be announced on Instagram Live every Wednesday, starting next week and running through July 28. The full schedule of whats being raffled when, plus other details, is online at sccfreevax.org. No problem. You can just show proof of your vaccination and bring a friend to get vaccinated to enter. Mattias Dominguez, a 17-year-old Oak Grove High School student who spoke at at press event Wednesday afternoon, said he lost his high school baseball season and most of his football season because of COVID-19 restrictions. His advice to his peers is to get vaccinated, not only to protect their older family members but to do the kinds of things young people do  like cruising down Monterey Road on the weekends. I know Im trying to have fun and everyone else is trying to have fun, he said. Pop-up vaccination sites arent part of the deal, but you can enter the raffle if you get your shot at Overfelt High School, the County Fairgrounds Expo Hall, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Valley Specialty Center, Levis Stadium (through June 24), Mountain View Community Center or Gilroy High School. Santa Clara County is leading the effort along with SAP Center, the City of San Jose and the Golden State Warriors. After a really tough year, especially for our young people being stuck at home and on Zoom learning, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said, this is an opportunity for everyone to get out, have fun and get vaccinated.