CLEVELAND — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced additional details pertaining to the $1 million lottery drawings for Ohioans who have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Starting on May 26, the state will announce a winner of the drawing for adults who received at least one vaccine. This announcement will happen every Wednesday at 7:29 p.m. for five weeks during a one-minute slot conducted by the Ohio Lottery.
To be eligible to win, you must be at least 18 years of age or older on the day of the drawing, you must be an Ohio resident, and you must be vaccinated before the drawing.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 13, 2021
Also on May 26, Ohio will announce the winner of a drawing for anyone 17 and under who has been vaccinated. The winner will receive a full, four-year scholarship to a state university. This will happen every Wednesday, for five straight Wednesdays.
DeWine said he created the lottery as an extra incentive for those on the fence about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
"It’s the people in the middle, who are going to determine, you know whether we get the numbers that we need to really tamp this virus down, that’s where the game is that’s where the action is," DeWine said. "And so being able to create an added incentive that may appeal to some of those individuals seemed well worth the money to do it."
The pool of names will be taken from the voter registration database made available from the Ohio Secretary of State. For those not in the database, primarily anyone 17 and under, the state will create an electronic portal on May 18 for people to sign up.
The money for the drawings will come from existing federal Coronavirus Relief Funds. The Ohio Department of Health is the sponsored agency for the drawings.
RELATED: Gov. Mike DeWine announces end of COVID-19 health orders, to be lifted June 2
Visit our Vaccinating Ohio page for the latest updates on Ohio's vaccination program, including links to sign up for a vaccine appointment, a map of nearby vaccination sites, a detailed breakdown of the state's current vaccine phase, and continuing local coverage of COVID-19 vaccines in Northeast Ohio.
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