DAVENPORT, Iowa — As the COVID-19 delta variant continues to spread across the country, local officials are coming up with creative new ways to encourage people to get the vaccine. The newest freebie is a ride on the ferris wheel at Modern Woodmen Park. Anyone who gets vaccinated at the clinic outside the ballpark the morning of July 17th will receive the free ride.
Scott County supervisor Ken Croken says it’s a way to enjoy something while helping yourself and your neighbors. “This is one of the best views of the Quad Cities. We hope that people will take advantage of this opportunity.”
Rock Island County Health Department director Janet Hill says time is of the essence as we work to vaccinate the community ahead of a variant outbreak. “Right now, even with Delta, the vaccines are highly effective against the virus. But at some point in the future, if the virus is still allowed to duplicate, it may not be as effective. So we're at a rush to try to get people vaccinated.”
The variant has been discovered in Illinois. Hill says there’s no reason to believe it isn’t in the Quad Cities. “The state does random testing for the Delta variant and we know that it's circulating in our state, and we have every reason to believe that it's circulating here.”
Across the river in Iowa, the delta variant is now considered the dominant strand according to the state health department. Hill says they want to see higher rates of vaccination. Currently the Quad Cities is sitting just about 52% of residents eligible for the vaccine have received it. “At this point, we're just clawing to get as many people as we can. We'd love to see north of 70.”