Ohio’s Vax-A-Million COVID-19 SHOTS Winners Announced

• Brian Jeacoma
• June 29, 2021

With July 1 right around the corner, states are pulling out all the stops to get their residents vaccinated against the coronavirus. With rates lower than the targeted 70% threshold, more than a few states have sweetened the pot as an incentive.

Local casinos in Ohio ran its Vax-a-Million incentive in conjunction with the state lottery. Starting in mid-May, the incentive ran until Thursday, June 24. There were a total of five $1 million winners plus five free-ride college scholarships.

This was the first state in the country to tie in cash prizes to COVID-19 vaccines. The only stipulation to enter the drawing was getting an initial vaccine shot.

Ohio started this incentive program for COVID-19 shots and other states followed suit. This list includes:

• New York
• California
• Colorado
• Kentucky
• North Carolina

In every case, a few lucky people had the opportunity to win big in exchange for receiving a vaccine shot. There are quite a few states still below the necessary threshold to create herd immunity for the coronavirus. However, in every case, the cash inventive was successful in increasing vaccination rates.

Heading into the final drawing on June 23, the numbers speak for themselves. It was reported that 3,469,542 residents of Ohio 18 and older were entered into the drawing. Another 154,889 youths ages 12 to 17 were eligible for the scholarship.

The weekly increase was 41,028 adult entries for the cash and 4,704 youth entries for free college.

These figures were released by the Ohio Department of Health.

Overall, more than 5,528,000 people in Ohio received at least one shot of the vaccine. Most available vaccines still require a second dose to be fully effective. More than 5 million people are fully vaccinated in the state.

The lottery prize money and scholarships were funded by the federal CARES Act. The Vax-a-Million prizes were awarded every Wednesday night starting on May 26. The final prize drawing took place on June 23. The five million-dollar winners were announced starting with Abbigail Bugenske. Esperanza Diaz was the final million-dollar winner on the list.

Joseph Costello earned the first free scholarship. Sydney Daum was the lucky winner on June 23. The scholarship is valid at any state college or university in Ohio. It covers tuition, room-and-board, and books up to a four-year program.

While the program did not reach the 70% goal, it was still deemed a success. The actual rate of vaccinated people in the state is less than 50%. Gov. Mike DeWine was

“happy, very, very happy with the way it’s turned out.”

He noted that there was a 28% increase in vaccination during the first week of the incentive. A spokesperson for the governor’s office added:

“It certainly got people’s attention at a time when we needed to get people’s attention about getting vaccinated. At the time we announced Vax-a-Million, the entire country was experiencing a decline in vaccinations.”

In Ohio, the coronavirus vaccine was first available in mid-December. This program was a major step in the right direction.