CHRISTIANSTED — One of the two latest winners of the “USVI Vax To Win” sweepstakes lottery is an nurse employed by a private health care clinic on the north shore of St. Croix.
Naita Salmon is employed as an obstetrics nurse by Frederiksted Health Care Inc. and is a nurse practitioner (NP) with a Master of Science (MSN) degree from California State University in Long Beach.
Salmon is popular with the patients, staff and guests at Frederiksted Health Care’s north shore clinic and works just a few hundred feet away from the St. Croix Vaccination Center in La Grande Princesse.
Frederiksted Health Care Inc. is a private health care facility — not an arm of the Virgin Islands government.
Governor Albert Bryan said at a press conference on Monday that residents will get $250 when they take the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine as a “reward” that is good through September 30. The governor also announced a special “Vax-to-Win” lottery for healthcare workers as he seeks to reach a herd immunity goal for the territory of 15,000 new vaccinations by the end of September.
“I finally broke down and said ok, we got to make sure we use every single incentive possible to get people vaccinated. So from today until September 30 every single person that gets vaccinated, the second shot we will be issuing you a check for $250 dollars.”
Bryan added that all people who get the $250 will still be eligible to win the $100,000 “Vax-to-Win” lottery.
St. Thomas resident Eva L Maldonado asked Government House on social media where the newly vaccinated can pick up their $250.
“Virgin Islands residents who take the vaccine between Monday August 9th and Friday October 8th are eligible for the $250 incentive and will receive that payment via check once they have received the second dose of the vaccine,” Government House replied on Facebook.
Virgin Islands residents who take the vaccine between Monday August 9th and Friday October 8th are eligible for the $250 incentive and will receive that payment via check once they have received the second dose of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, there will be a special drawing dubbed “Healthcare Heroes” for healthcare workers, which includes selfsame prizes as the drawings for school-based personnel. The drawing will take place on October 4 and winners will be announced on October 12. Eligible persons for the drawing must be registered by October 1.
“To win you simply have to prove that you are employed at a healthcare or allied healthcare facility at the time of the drawing, that you have been fully vaccinated in the Virgin Islands and that you are indeed a resident of the territory,” the governor made known.
Eligible persons can register for the special drawing here.
Bryan said six winners from the special drawing for school-based personnel will be announced on August 16 during next week’s press conference. In each district there was a first place winner who will receive $25,000, a second-place winner who will receive $10,000, and a third-place winner who will receive $5,000. The winners have been contacted and their information was being validated, according to the governor.
LATEST VAX-TO-WIN LOTTERY WINNERS
Raymond Williams, director of Virgin Islands Lottery, announced the winners of the July 30 “Vax-to-Win” lottery drawing: Salmon on St. Croix and Raphael Farrington of the St. Thomas-St. John District.
“Wow! I went to school with Raphael Farrington!” Bryan said in the press conference. “Congratulations Raffie!”
Each winner is fully vaccinated and will receive $100,000 each. Williams said Salmon’s and Farrington’s $100,00 checks are waiting for them at the lottery offices in St. Croix and St. Thomas “whenever you want to come and pick them up.”
All of the USVI “Vax-To-Win” winners to date have been people who got their shots before the vaccine incentive program was announced on June 7.
Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion said there were 336 active cases in the territory as of Monday, with 201 of those cases on St. Thomas, 121 on St. Croix and 14 on St. John. The current seven-day positive rate for the territory stood at 5.48 percent, according to the health commissioner.
After stating that 47,192 individuals have taken at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 38,268 individuals were fully vaccinated, Ms. Encarnacion said, “That’s not enough, it’s a good amount but it actually only shows that 42.46 percent of the population have been fully immunized.”
Encarnacion said 349 total monocular antibody infusion treatments have been administered at the Schneider Regional Medical Center and the Myrah Keating Community Healthcare Center, with 58 of those treatments given in August. At Juan F. Luis Hospital there have been 75 total monocular antibody infusion treatments administered, with 13 of those treatments given this month.
There have been 41 COVID-related deaths in the Virgin Islands.
Bryan said of the 47,000 people who have been vaccinated, 65 have tested positive for COVID-19.