Shot for shot: New Orleans bar offers coronavirus vaccines along with free shot of alcohol

Hundreds queued up at The Dragon’s Den bar in New Orleans to get their Covid-19 vaccination shot, followed by a watermelon lemondrop shot

Two women who got vaccinated at The Dragon’s Den bar in New Orleans, told Nolanews: “That’s the way it goes here .” (Twitter: Katelyn Umholtz for Nolanews)

A New Orleans bar vaccinated more than 200 people for Covid-19 after offering a ‘shot for shot deal’.

Hundreds queued up to take both shots at The Dragon’s Den on the famous Frenchman Street after it partnered with Johnson & Johnson, as well as Crescent Care and the City of New Orleans to launch a community vaccination drive on Friday. 

The bar advertised a free watermelon lemon drop shot and Yaka Mein noodle soup for every person who received the vaccine for the deadly pandemic, as reported by Mediaite.com. 

People were photographed getting their shot in a tent on the street, followed by proudly displaying their plaster on their arm, before taking a shot in the bar nearby. 

Katelyn Umholtz, a reporter for Nola.com was following the event and tweeted that health workers brought around 240 Johnson & Johnson shots with them that evening.

She added: “They had 40 people signed up 15 minutes before the event started, and the line keeps growing.”

Kate Conner, the vaccine manager at Crescent Care, told Nola.com: “We wanted to bring the vaccines to the people, and making it cool definitely helps push that.”

One person who took up the offer was Briggs Martin, who had previously claimed he wouldn’t take the shot until alcohol was involved.

“They called my bluff”, he said.

People posted on social media about the event, which was held on the first night that the city extended alcohol licences from 11pm to 1am, following a pandemic shut down that has greatly impacted the city’s important tourism revenue.

The Dragon’s Den bar in New Orleans posted this advertisement on its Facebook page urging people to get their vaccine followed by a free shot at the bar (Facebook: Dragon’s Den Bar)

One individual, with the name ‘non binary gollum’ tweeted: “Howling because my friend got vaccinated at a bar lmao that’s New Orleans for you.”

A man called Jim Robert tweeted: “If you need another reason to love New Orleans here it is ..”

A poster for New Orleans healthcare workers is seen with the slogan 'Won't Bow Down' on Frenchmen Street on April 24, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The posters are being used to help pay for meals for hospital staff and support local artists due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

A woman called Sandra Repar tweeted a link to a pop-up vaccine drive and said: “Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll)”.

The historic city has been playing to its strengths when it comes to vaccinations, including playing live jazz at its mass vaccination site last month.

On 4 March, Ochsner Health, a New Orleans hospital, celebrated its 100,000th recovery from the virus with a jazz send-off for patient Miriam Bertrand.

Around 38% of the local population in Orleans Parish has received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 23.5% fully vaccinated, local figures claimed.