Southwest Ohio woman won the $ 1 million prize in the
Vax-a-Million
state lottery
,
created to encourage vaccination against the coronavirus and in which only immunized people could participate;
and a 14-year-old from the Dayton area won the college scholarship drawn from the minors.
Abbigail Bugenske
, of Silverton, near Cincinnati, was the million-dollar winner, and
Jospeh Costello
, of Englewood, near Dayton, won the college scholarship, state officials announced.
"We are excited that this has encouraged many Ohioans to get vaccinated," said Gov. Mike DeWine, Republican.
Bugenske, 22, had started a four-hour drive to Cleveland to see his parents and buy a used car when his phone rang.
She thought it was a joke, but it was the governor himself, who
called her to surprise her with the good news.
"Vaccines have always been in my medical record. It was a pretty easy decision to go get vaccinated as fast as I could," the woman told a news conference Thursday, "I would encourage
anyone to get vaccinated
.
"
"If earning a million dollars is not enough of an incentive, I don't know what would be," he added.
[New York will reward those who get vaccinated with a lottery ticket for up to $ 5 million: "We all win!"]
Bugenske said he does not yet know where to spend the money, but that
some will be donated and some will go to the car
he was thinking of buying.
The rest will likely be invested, he said.
She was raised in the Cleveland area, graduated from Michigan State University last year, and
is
now
working toward a master's degree in aerospace engineering
at Ohio State University while working at General Electric (she does not plan to leave her job, she explained ).
The other winner, 14-year-old Joseph Costello, was awarded a
four-year scholarship
to any Ohio university he chooses.
He said he doesn't know yet what he will study, but that he
will
likely
choose either the University of Miami
in Ohio or the Ohio State University.
[In seven states 70% of adults are vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine]
Almost three million people participated in the lottery
More than 2.7 million adults signed up for the million dollar prize and more than 104,000 children between the ages of 12 and 17 entered the drawing for the college scholarship, which includes payment of tuition, room, board and fees. books.
Another four million dollar winners and college scholarships will be announced every Wednesday for the next several weeks.
DeWine announced the program on May 12 to encourage more people to get vaccinated and improve the immunization rate, which was at a low level.
Participants must register by phone or on the
Vax-a-Million page
.
Teens can register themselves, but parents or legal guardians must verify that they meet the requirements.
Those who do not win will continue to participate in the following weeks.
The deadline to register is Sunday at midnight.
Ohio will raffle the first million dollars among people vaccinated against COVID-19
May 26, 202100: 30
"
I know some may say: 'DeWine, you are crazy!
This millionaire idea is a waste of money," said the governor when he announced the incentive.
But the real waste, when the vaccine is already available, "is a life lost to COVID-19," he added.
The idea seemed to work, at least at first.
The number of people in Ohio 16 and older who received their initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine increased 33%
in the week after the state announced its incentive lottery with $ 1 million prizes, according to an analysis by The Associated Press news agency.
But the same review also found that
inoculation rates are still well below the figures recorded in April and March.
With information from AP and NBC News
.