Some San Diegans jumped at the opportunity Saturday to get their COVID-19 vaccines at Petco Park’s Gallagher Square where they were able to score some Padres freebies.
“I had an appointment ready for next week and then I saw this on the news, and I thought, alright, I may as well get some Padres tickets out of it,” said Erika Hoeft, who lives in Escondido.
“We want to make it accessible; we want to make it fun and we want to reward people for coming out and making the last effort to get vaccines into arms,” said Denise Foster, Chief Nursing Officer with the County of San Diego.
On Friday, the county said it was closer to reaching herd immunity at almost 2.1 million eligible San Diegans had received at least one dose.
Hoeft is a born and raised Padres fan and said she planned on getting vaccinated before returning to the office for work and couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a free pair of Padres tickets.
Those who showed up to the pop-up vaccination site were able to receive the Johnson & Johnson or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Each person vaccinated at the Petco Park location got a free pair of tickets to see the Padres at a future game and a Padres Hero shirt. Those who have already been vaccinated can enter a drawing for a chance to win a free pair of tickets, the county said.
The next time Gallagher Square will host a vaccine site – meaning locals will get another chance to snag some tickets – will be from 1:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 26.