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Store holds vaccine promo, sees virtual vitriol

Sara Erickson

A Soldotna business owner is giving out free goodies to customers who’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Sara Erickson, who makes and sells fish skin dog treats for AlaSkins, says the promotion is a celebration of the state’s herculean effort to immunize Alaskans against the coronavirus. She got her first vaccine recently, at a local clinic.

“The amount of manpower that was there to put forth this effort was just really inspiring to me," she said. "I was really proud to be part of a community that was really giving so much to eradicate this virus.”

She’s held other promotions before, like a discount for members of the military on Veterans Day. So she decided to do a promotion for customers who have been partially or fully vaccinated.

“Bring in your vaccination card, proof of vaccine, and you get a free bag of AlaSkins," she said. "And it was just, I can do whatever I want, I’m a business owner, and I thought, ‘Great.’ I just wanted to celebrate, you know? Man, oh man.”

She got a lot of pushback, most of it on Facebook.

“I got harsh, harsh, harsh, angry criticisms. People saying that they were customers before and they were going to throw out the dog treats they had and they were never coming back. And one lady called it a biological weapon agent," she said. "I couldn’t believe how political it was.”

COVID-19 vaccinations have been political, state- and nationwide and on the Kenai Peninsula. 

A survey by Alaska Public Media found there’s a partisan divide about willingness to get the vaccine among the state’s elected officials. All but one Democratic legislator said in the survey that they have or plan to get the vaccine.

Republicans were more hesitant, or downright opposed. Soldotna Rep. Ron Gillham called the vaccine “experimental” and said he wouldn’t be getting it. Nikiski Rep. Ben Carpenter refused to answer the survey, saying his decision was no one else’s business.

Personal experience has also been a powerful driver for people. Erickson says she was originally going to wait to get her shot but reconsidered when a family member who was otherwise healthy died of COVID-19.

“And that was super sad. But shocking to me. And alarming," she said.

She said she sees the vaccination effort as a sign we’re turning a corner after so many months of living with the virus.

She’s hardly alone in her enthusiasm. Customers have taken her up on the promotion and she’s seen a lot of positive feedback, too.

“The next day, we gave around 21 bags of dog treats," she said.

Erickson gets her own second shot Saturday.

Sabine Poux is a producer and reporter for the Brave Little State podcast of Vermont Public. She was formerly news director and evening news host at KDLL in Kenai.

Originally from New York, Sabine has lived and reported in Argentina and Vermont and Kenai.
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