Gas Station Pumps Vaccines

New Haven’s vaccination ground game — finding ways to lure Covid-19 vaccination hold-outs to get shots, one by one — found 19 takers at the gas pump.

The 19 responded to a lure: They had the opportunity to pick up not one, but two gift cards on Saturday at the Forbes Premium Fuel gas station on Forbes Avenue in the Annex on Saturday in return for getting their first Covid-19 shot.

The New Haven Health Department organized the event with Griffin Health, one of 30 pop-up vaccine clinics being held around the city as part of a new targeted strategy to reach the hold-outs or hesitant or skeptical who didn’t line up for the earlier rounds of mass vaccinations. Click on the above video to watch Health Director Maritza Bond discuss the strategy during an appearance on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven.”

Takers at the gas station event and another held this weekend on Long Wharf said convenience did play a role in their decision finally to get vaccinated.

As with other vaccine pop-ups around the city, Saturday’s drive-up on Forbes Avenue offered an incentive for first-comers, in the form of $10 gift cards for either Dunkin’ Donuts or the gas station itself.

Gas station owner Linda Hennessey made that offer twice as appealing by matching each $10 gift card with another card, valid for both her gas station and her convenience store. She knew that the high volume of business her station sees daily would make it a convenient spot for a clinic. So she reached out to the officials at the Health Department, who agreed to offer the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with another date for those getting their second shots slated for July 31.

“We’re very busy, and we’re in a great neighborhood,” Hennessey said. ​“We need to keep everyone healthy and all on the same page. And we need to get our country back to normal.”

And busy it was. All eight fueling stations saw a constant flow of customers on Saturday afternoon, often with multiple cars in queue. The clinic received a morning visit from Mayor Justin Elicker and Health Director Maritza Bond, as well.

By the end of the day, 19 customers left the station with shots in their arms as well as gas in their tanks, according to Hennessey. That’s above average for recent pop-ups in New Haven, she learned.

Convenience was key to Hernan Muralles’ choice to get the vaccine. The general contractor said he had been talking to his wife about making a vaccine appointment when he saw the sign outside the station.

“I happened to drive by and stopped to get some gas,” Muralles said. ​“And so I told my wife, ​‘Why don’t we do it now?’”

His wife agreed, and both received their first Pfizer shots. Muralles then came back, bringing friend David Briley along, who was initially hesitant but jumped at the chance when Muralles told him about the gift card incentive.

“That was the kicker,” Briley said. Both he and Muralles spent some of their gift cards on Gatorades from Hennessey’s convenience store.

Muralles described Hennessey’s station as his go-to stop because it sells the ​“cheapest gas in town”. The price for regular gas on Saturday was $2.93, meaning newly-vaccinated customers could put nearly seven gallons of free gas in their tanks.

That put a smile on Muralles’ face.

“We’ll tell other people too!” Muralles shouted as he departed.

On Long Wharf, Takers & No-Takers

The convenience of another city-Griffin clinic set up on Long Wharf also convinced Eduardo Cabzas to receive a shot Sunday. The clinic is operating each weekend this summer across from the food trucks on Long Wharf Drive. Participants receive a $10 voucher for the food trucks.

Cabzas said that he was originally in the area on Saturday, and saw the Griffin Health clinic. He said that he tried to get his vaccine that day, but the clinic was already closed, so he came back on Sunday. He said that not having to wait and just being able to walk up and get his shot encouraged his ​“spur of the moment” decision.

Franciny Ortiz was just driving around Long Wharf when she saw the clinic. The convenience of it encouraged her to go ahead and get her shot.

Meanwhile, over at the food trucks, José Aerec, Francisco Reyes, and Rocio Castillo said while eating burritos that they had not yet been vaccinated. They weren’t planning to take advantage of the clinic.

“We’ve been around people with Covid, and we haven’t gotten sick,” explained Aerec. He added that he doesn’t want to deal with the post-vaccine symptoms some people experience.

Joseph and Cheyenne Barrizo, too, have not been vaccinated, albeit for different reasons. Joseph Barrizo said that he was ​“waiting for others to go get it” with him, but no one wanted to. He added that he’ll have to go get it himself now. Cheyenne Barrizo said that she ​“won’t be a ploy for the government” and doesn’t trust the vaccine, so she will not get it.