Ohio's first Vax-a-Million winners were announced on Wednesday night. Ohio Lottery officials declared Abbigail Bugenske of Silverton and Joseph Costello of Englewood as winners of Ohio's first vaccine lottery during a much-anticipated drawing.
The southwestern Ohio woman won the state's initial $1 million Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prize. On the other hand, a Dayton-area teenager was awarded the first full-ride college scholarship offered by the program. The winners were chosen in a random drawing on Monday. They had their data confirmed before the formal announcement at the end of the Ohio Lottery's Cash Explosion television show.
Scheme to Boost Ohio's Vaccination Rate Became Reality
That audacious plan of action to bolster Ohio's inoculation rate became a reality on Wednesday night. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has garnered national acclaim and drawn local blowback since divulging the plan. The first broadcast had a run of mere 60 seconds.
Wednesday evening marked the first of five drawings that will take place every Wednesday. An estimated 2.75 million adults participated in the Ohio Vax-a-Million cash drawing. Another 104,386 students from 12 and 17 years old entered the contest to clinch five full-ride college scholarships, reported The Columbus Dispatch.
The four-year college scholarship to a state college or university includes board, room, and tuition. Four more $1 million and college scholarship winners will be declared each Wednesday for the following four weeks.
The announcement arrives two days after Ohio officials picked the first winner's name on Monday afternoon from a pool of 2,758,490 entries. The drawing was not held live for state officials to have time to verify the winner's data, including evidence of vaccination, reported WKYC.
Winners will be declared through June 23 at 7:29 p.m. Governor DeWine publicly declared the Vax-a-Million program two weeks ago. He told residents that vaccinated individuals can enter the lottery paid for by federal COVID-19 funds. He recognized that several people might consider the idea a "waste of money" and "crazy." However, Ohio witnessed a surge in vaccine sign-ups nearly immediately after the announcement.
The first winners' names were drawn on Monday after the Sunday entry deadline. According to Ohio's lottery commission, it draws one winner, and a maximum of 100 alternates make use of a random number generator.
According to DeWine, "We're excited that this has inspired so many Ohioans to get vaccinated, and we're thrilled to announce the winners of the first round of drawings." He declared the program on May 12 to bolster lagging inoculation rates, reported SF Gate.
Some 104,386 young people of Ohio registered for the scholarship drawing. The odds there are relatively better than winning the cash incentive for COVID-19 vaccination.
Participants should register to enter via the Vax-a-Million website or by phone. Teenagers could register themselves, but parents or legal guardians must verify their qualifications.
