Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced more than 2.75 million Ohioans will have a shot to win a million dollars, when the state draws the first winner today.
>>First Ohio Vax-A-Million drawing to be held today
The news conference came as the first of five drawings in the Vax-A-Million program was scheduled to happen today. The winners of the first $1 million prize for eligible Ohioans over 18-years-old and the prize for 12-17 year-olds, free tuition to a state college or university, were chosen today. The winners will be formally announced Wednesday after the state verifies the eligibility of the chosen winners.
>>RELATED: Ohio’s Vax-A-Million lottery: How can you win?
The following announcements have been made:
- 2,758,470 Ohioans have registered for the $1 million Vax-A-Million drawing, according to DeWine.
- 104,386 Ohioans age 12-17 have registered for the scholarship drawing.
- Ohioans can still register for the remaining four drawings on ohiovaxamillion.com or 1-833-427-5634.
- DeWine said the group of 16 and 17 years olds has seen the largest increase (94 percent increase) since the Vax-A-Million lottery was announced.
- Miami County is sixth highest county in the state with the highest vaccination rate increase since the lottery was announced with a 129 percent increase in vaccinations.
- The state has not ruled out other incentives after Vax-A-Million concludes, DeWine said, adding that they are going to see how the lottery goes. “(It has) exceeded my wildest expectations,” the Governor said.
- The state is now at 89.8 cases per 100,000 people. Prior to announcing an end to health orders on June 2, DeWine had targeted 50 cases per 100,000 to lift the orders.
- DeWine said schools will ask students who are unvaccinated to isolate if they test positive for COVID-19. Vaccinated children do not have to quarantine if they have close contacts with a positive case of COVID-19 within the school. He said this is in line with standard isolation and quarantining measures, and is standard infection control practice from the CDC, even prior to COVID-19. “These are standard public health practices that are implemented for many communicable diseases including measles and mumps,” DeWine said. “When dealing with deadly communicable disease, isolation and quarantine of unvaccinated people has been used successfully for hundreds of years.”
- On June 2, it will be up to individual districts to determine whether masks or social distancing will continue in schools.
Cox Media Group
