During the third week of February, the vaccine clinic in the LSU Student Union administered an average of four booster shots a day. On Tuesday, 121 were administered. 
Through the “Shot for 100″ program, which issues $100 gift cards to eligible vaccine recipients in Louisiana, a group of LSU students is working to get students vaccinated. 
Louisiana’s vaccination rate is amongst the lowest in the nation, with just 52% of eligible residents fully vaccinated, according to the New York Times. While LSU’s vaccination rate is significantly higher, with 83% of students fully vaccinated, just 23% of students have reported receiving a booster shot, according to Aly Neel, communications director for the Louisiana Department of Health.
Sal Beeby, Jordan Boshea, Drake Brignac, Bryce Billiot and Caroline Burney are working with Neel on the vaccination campaign as part of their advanced seminar in political communication.
To get students vaccinated and paid ahead of Mardi Gras, they have undertaken a digital and peer-to-peer campaign. They started simple: reaching out in their class GroupMe chats. Then, they took to social media, designing graphics encouraging vaccination. Finally, they set up outside the Student Union, tabling for hours at a time to get students to roll their sleeves up.
According to Boshea, a mass communication junior, telling students about the $100 gift cards was more than enough to get them vaccinated.
“Almost everyone I talked to, they were just interested in the money aspect of it,” Boshea said. “They didn’t really want to know anything about the booster itself. They were just like, ‘Oh, where do I go to get $100?’”
Beeby said that most questions he answered were not about the vaccine itself, but logistical questions like what documentation students need to get the shot.
“I think everybody needs $100 in their pocket at the start of Mardi Gras,” Boshea said last week.
The university Shot for 100 program concluded last Friday just before the start of Mardi Gras break.
The students have been trying to get the administration on board with their booster campaign, but they’ve been doing just fine on their own.
According to Bob Mann, their professor, the students convinced almost 50 people to get the shots in their first hour and a half of tabling.
Their campaign has been so effective that the clinic at the student union almost ran out of vaccine doses on Tuesday. According to LSU spokesperson Ernie Ballard, vials of the shot were redirected from the vaccine site located at the 4-H mini barn.