June Leffler Published

‘Grandfamilies’ Can Get $150 Vaccine Incentive

Developing a vaccine for meningitis B was tricky. Even the existing vaccine doesn't protect against all B strains.

Gov. Jim Justice announced an initiative that will provide a $150 voucher for back-to-school supplies to all vaccinated grandfamilies in West Virginia.

Grandfamilies are families where grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

West Virginia State University’s Healthy Grandfamilies program – which provides information and resources to grandparents who are raising one or more grandchildren – will assist in the administration of the school voucher incentive.

“In the mix of all these grandfamilies, we’re looking at about 19,000 children in those families. What if our grandparents began dying off due to COVID because they didn’t get vaccinated? What would we do in West Virginia with 19,000 homeless children?” said Healthy Grandfamilies co-director Bonnie Dunn.

Registration for the school voucher incentive will begin next Tuesday, Sept. 7.

To qualify, all vaccine-eligible members of the grandfamily – including grandparents and grandchildren ages 12 and older – must have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The family must also be enrolled in the Healthy Grandfamilies program.

“We’ve been working every day to save our wisdom,” Gov. Justice said. “Now, we’re hoping our wisdom will help us save our youth; save our future.”

For information on how to enroll, visit healthygrandfamilies.com.