Vaccine Scholarship Program

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Vaccine Scholarship Program

Harris County provided scholarships to residents under the age of 18 who received a COVID-19 vaccine from an HCPH vaccination site between June 10 to August 12, 2021.

Harris County’s vaccination scholarship program was a public outreach campaign to increase awareness of the availability of COVID-19 vaccines administered by Harris County Public Health and provided incentives to residents to increase vaccine uptake. The program served a public purpose in the current COVID-19 public health pandemic by incentivizing young people to receive vaccinations in a critical moment of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program also encouraged young people to pursue education in-state, helping strengthen the future generation of Texas’ workforce.



About This Program

  • Harris County awarded ten college, trade or vocational scholarships of $5,000.
  • Scholarships were given to students to help cover tuition, room-and-board, and books to any community college, public college, trade school, vocational school or university in the state of Texas.
  • Residents under the age of 18 who were previously vaccinated at any HCPH vaccination site prior to June 3, 2021, were automatically entered.
  • Drawings for contest winners were conducted weekly beginning June 10, 2021. The drawings occured each week for ten consecutive weeks, as shown in the schedule here.

For any questions, please email us at [email protected].



Eligibility

Individuals had to meet the requirements outlined below to be eligible for the incentive. Citizenship status was not checked or required.

  • Harris County resident
  • Under 18 years old at the time of drawing
  • Received at least the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine from a HCPH vaccination site at any point before the drawing*

*Should the Moderna and/or Johnson & Johnson vaccine be FDA-approved for persons under the age of 18 before any drawing, participants who received the first dose of the Moderna or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson will also be eligible.



Announcement Schedule

Beginning June 10, 2021, drawings for contest winners will be conducted each week for ten consecutive weeks. Only one winner will be selected each week.


Week
Entry Deadline
Drawing Date
Announcement Date
1
June 9, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
June 10, 2021
June 11, 2021
2
June 16, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
June 17, 2021
June 18, 2021
3
June 23, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
June 24, 2021
June 25, 2021
4
June 30, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
July 1, 2021
July 2, 2021
5
July 7, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
July 8, 2021
July 9, 2021
6
July 14, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
July 15, 2021
July 16, 2021
7
July 21, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
July 22, 2021
July 23, 2021
8
July 28, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
July 29, 2021
July 30, 2021
9
August 4, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
August 5, 2021
August 6, 2021
10
August 11, 2021 at 11:59 PM CST
August 12, 2021
August 13, 2021


FAQ

How will this program be funded?

The program funds will be administered by Harris County. A scholarship fund will be created by Harris County, and the funds will be held until contest winners enroll at an eligible in-state community college, public college, trade school, vocational school or university.

Scholarship funds will come from the $250,000 tranche of funding approved by Commissioners Court for vaccine incentives and awareness.

How often will HCPH draw for a scholarship winner?

Drawings for contest winners will be conducted weekly for 10 weeks beginning June 10, 2021. There will be one drawing each week for ten consecutive weeks.

When can the residents use the scholarship?

Harris County will work with all scholarship award winners to ensure the funds are transferred to the institution properly. Winners will have their scholarships directly paid to the eligible institution they attend at the time of enrollment.

What happens if a contest participant does not accept the scholarship?

Harris County will have at least one alternate selected in the case a contest participant is unable to be contacted by the next week’s announcement or if they choose to decline the scholarship.

Is citizenship status required?

No. HCPH vaccination sites do not require citizenship status checks, and all vaccinations through HCPH are free.