PORTLAND, Ore. — Imagine if a blue silicon bracelet, at just $2.50, was the key to herd immunity against COVID-19. It sounds improbable, at least to everyone except Greg Akselrod of Seattle.
"We wanted to keep it as affordable as possible because our goal was not to get rich," Akselrod said. "Our goal was to get as many bracelets onto wrists as possible."
The former Microsoft and Amazon employee teamed up with a buddy to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. The VacSeen bracelet may just do that.
"What we're really trying to do is get the 50-60% of people who are pro-vaccine, have done their part, and rather than have it invisible inside their arm, wear it outside their arm, show it to people around them and hopefully encourage those around them to join the cause," Akselrod said.
According to Akselrod, the VacSeen bracelet is not a vaccine passport or even a proof of vaccination. Instead it is a tool to promote vaccine awareness, like the Livestrong bracelet was for cancer.
In less than a year, Akselrod says, they have sold more than 300,000 wristbands. The city with the second-most sales behind Seattle is Portland.
"Portland has been great," Akselrod said. "They're our neighbor to the south. Portland has been ordering a lot of them as have other cities."
A woman in Southern Oregon bought some VacSeen bracelets.
"I ordered some to help spread the word," she tweeted. "If you have gotten your shots get one for yourself."
"People in the Northwest generally support each other and want to do their part and they tend to trust science," Akselrod added.
Akselrod trusts science. He is hoping the blue silicon bracelet encourages others to do the same.
"With the delta variant it's clear the vaccination is the only way out of this and the bar has risen," he said. "We need to get more people vaccinated than we thought before."
You can order a bracelet by visiting the VacSeen website. 50% of the proceeds will go towards the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.