Krispy Kreme has given away nearly 1.5 million free doughnuts to vaccinated Americans

• Krispy Kreme has given out free doughnuts to vaccinated customers.
• The doughnut chain said it gave nearly 1.5 million doughnuts since March.
• Other businesses also offered perks for vaccines.

Krispy Kreme says it has given away nearly 1.5 million free doughnuts to vaccinated Americans.

The doughnut chain first announced the offer in March, and confirmed to Insider that it has distributed 1.5 million free glazed doughnuts in the first ten weeks.

"We were the first national brand to launch a campaign to show support for Americans choosing to get vaccinated, and we were hopeful that others would join us. So, it's very gratifying to see so many companies, organizations, communities and even state governments encouraging and incentivizing people to protect themselves and others by getting vaccinated," a spoke person told Insider in an email.

Read more: The founders of a chocolate startup turned down an acquisition from Hershey's and are using their Instagram reality show and $10 million in revenue to try for an IPO

When the offer was first announced, Krispy Kreme CMO Dave Skena told Insider that he'd hoped others would follow the company's lead in offering free perks for vaccinated people. "Whatever little things brands can do to help make it past the pandemic are good things," Skena told Insider in a phone call.

Plenty of major brands have offered their own vaccination incentives since then. Sam Adams offered to buy people beers in exchange for evidence of vaccination, Target gave out $5 coupons, and Shake Shack offered up free fries. These are only a few of the offers that popped up over the last few months, some of which are nationwide and others are through smaller local businesses.

Krispy Kreme told Insider that the free doughnut offer will be good through the end of 2021. "We're on our way to giving away many millions of doughnuts as the country mobilizes to get this pandemic behind us as soon as possible," a spokesperson told Insider.

The CDC says that more than half of all Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far. There's no limit on the doughnut offer from Krispy Kreme, so any of those vaccinated people can potentially get a free doughnut every day for the rest of the year if they'd like.

Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.