Ohio has got hold of its second Vax-a-Million Covid vaccine lottery since the launch of the lottery game. Out of a total entry of 3,225,789, the winner is the only lucky person to have won $1 million.
People have been quite reluctant to get the Covid-19 vaccine because everything about the virus is so new and extraordinary. Though the vaccines are said to protect you from the severity of covid infection, yet people are hesitant. Therefore, in order to encourage the public to get vaccinated some states of the US have introduced incentives in the form of lottery prizes.
Ohio is one of the first few states to have adopted the vaccine lottery incentive to motivate its people for the vaccination. The lottery game is played under the name and style of Vax-a-Million, the drawing for which is made at the start of the week. Ever since the lottery’s introduction, the state lottery is now announcing the second winner as well.
The drawing was made using a random number generator at the studio of the Ohio Lottery located in Cleveland. The whole process was monitored by an official of the Ohio Auditor of the State.
In order to give state officials time to confirm and authenticate the information of the winners, the drawing doesn’t happen live. Since some conditions are attached to the vaccine lottery game, therefore the officials need to ensure that all the conditions are met. There is a set criterion that includes having been vaccinated either fully or at least partially. Proof of vaccination is required before the results can be announced.
Vax-a-Million is not the only incentive introduced by Ohio, it also initiated a full-ride college scholarship contest. This is for students who are aged between 12 and 17. Out of 132,903 entries, the state has got its winner for this vaccine contest as well.
The results of this lottery incentive have been great and the state saw a tremendous increase in the rate of vaccination. According to officials, the Vax-a-Million drawing saw a surge in the number of adult participants by 467,320 and scholarship entries by 28,518. This indirectly reflects the increase in the number of people going for the vaccination.
The modalities of the drawing are very simple with participants being assigned a unique number with each entry. It is the computer that without any specific order selects one of the assigned numbers. The participant assigned that selected number is declared the winner after it has been ascertained that they meet the criteria.
As of now, five drawings of the lottery are scheduled, two of which have already been taken place. Participants do not have to sign up for all the drawings individually and in fact, one entry is considered for all five. There are strict rules for duplicate entries and any such entry which is made twice is automatically removed.