Wayne State offers free meal to students who get a COVID-19 vaccine

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson says lunch is on him if students get a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a letter sent to students Wednesday, Wilson offered $10 to students if they upload a photo of their vaccine card or other evidence that they have received their first shot by May 7.

The $10 will be a credit added to their OneCard, a student identification card, for use with Grubhub, a food delivery service. Or, students can save the $10 for when they return to campus.

Wilson said he expects most classes to be in-person this fall but that students need to be vaccinated.

"Unfortunately, the COVID-19 numbers in Michigan are currently at an unacceptably high level," Wilson wrote. "The best way to ensure a return to campus in September is to get a vaccination if you haven’t yet done so."

Wayne State's move comes as colleges and universities are making plans for fall amid the pandemic. Oakland University announced earlier this month that students living on campus will be required to be vaccinated.

Michigan State University President Samuel Stanley said last week that mandating vaccines for students is being discussed but not yet been decided.

"We've done polling that suggests 80% of our students want to receive the vaccine," Stanley said. "If we were able to achieve that kind of number, we would be in very good shape for the fall. We see our purpose right now is to do as much as we can to help our students get vaccinated."

Wayne State has not made the vaccine mandatory for fall, said spokesman Matt Lockwood. The university wants to try the incentive first.

In his letter, Wilson encouraged students to schedule their appointment at the Campus Health Center. So far the initial response has been strong, with 200 students submitting evidence of a shot, Lockwood said

"Everybody loves a free meal," Lockwood said.

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @kimberkoz