Are you interested in getting the COVID-19 vaccine? A $50 gift card may be in it for you.

The City of Seward is offering $50 gift cards to people who get the COVID vaccine at Seward Community Health Center on First Avenue. People interested in participating in the program, called the “Play Hard, Stay Safe Vaccine Incentive Program,” will be allowed to choose the participating business for which they would like a gift card.

Participating businesses include Harbor Street Creamery, Resurrect Art Coffee House, Forests, Tides & Treasures and the Seward Alehouse, among others, according to a flyer announcing the program. A full list of businesses can be found on the Seward chamber’s website at seward.com.

Gift cards are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are distributed immediately after the participant receives either their first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech’s or Moderna’s vaccine, or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. People age 12 and older are currently eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Alaska.

Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine is available to people 12 and older. Moderna’s two-dose vaccine and Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine are available to people 18 and older. Minors between the ages of 12 and 17 must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver in order to be vaccinated.

Funding for the program comes from the Alaska Chamber and the Alaska Department of Health & Social Services.

According to data updated on July 2 by the DHSS, the Kenai Peninsula Borough ranks 24 out of 27 Alaska boroughs and census areas for the percentage of Alaskans 12 and older who have received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, at 46%. 43% of borough residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

More information about the program can be found on the Seward Chamber of Commerce’s website at seward.com.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.