The development comes amid a surge in new Covid-19 infections in the United States.
Starting this Friday, New York will pay $100 to the citizen who goes to a city-run vaccination site for their first dose of COVID vaccine, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.
It comes just days after the Mayor said all city workers would have to be vaccinated or go through strict weekly testing protocols. The development comes amid a surge in new Covid-19 infections in the United States.
Speaking to the media, de Blasio said, "I think when someone says here’s $100 for you, that’s going to make a big impact. The key is vaccination. We can talk about so many other issues with Covid-19, but if we're not talking about vaccination then we're not talking about the solution.”
As of Wednesday, New York had vaccinated nearly 71 per cent of all the adults in the city and 59 per cent of the city's total population have received at least one dose. According to New York State Department of Health data, between 45% and 65% of New York City residents are fully vaccinated.
As per the new guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which arrived on Tuesday, recommends both vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans wear masks in those areas which have registered more than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents over the week prior.