CLEVELAND (WJW) — A health clinic held on Saturday on Cleveland’s west side used the lure of cash to try and reach communities that have been reluctant for various reasons to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The “Dollars for Doses” program is part of a campaign by the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and the Young Latino Network to meet people where “they are.” Saturday’s Dollars for Doses event was held at the Young Latino Network’s Community Health Clinic on Fulton Road.

The program offers participants $100 for the first dose of the COVID vaccine, $50 for the second dose, $25 for a booster shot, and $25 for each additional person they bring in to be vaccinated.

“We know the impact of the cost of getting a vaccine, we know that some people have to take days off, some people have to take sick time and what not, they have to find baby sitters you know to recover, so we’re providing an incentive to make it easier to access the vaccination,” said Young Latino Network Executive Director Selina Pagan.

The funding for the program comes from  a group called Funders Collaborative on COVID Recovery. Saturday’s event was modeled after a series of Dollars for Doses events on the city’s east side, that were designed to reach communities with lower vaccination rates.

“Without that, we don’t get a lot of response, which is what we’ve seen in other events that are happening, not a lot of response from people, but Dollars for Doses, it gets people out to get vaccinated,” said Keisha Krumm, Executive Director of Greater Cleveland Congregations.

The Young Latino Network is planning two more Dollars for Doses events on the west side, one on June 18 and the other on July 16.