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Five vaccinated residents will receive $1 million (around P48 million) each from the Ohio government in the United States in a bid to encourage citizens to get COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible.
The five lucky residents will be randomly selected via weekly lottery-style drawings conducted by Ohio Lottery, Gov. Mike DeWine announced yesterday, May 12, as per NBC affiliate WLWT.
The pool of names for the drawing will be derived from the Ohio Secretary of State’s publicly available voter registration database,” Gov. Mike DeWine was quoted as saying.
“Further, we will make available a webpage for people to sign up for the drawings if they are not in a database we are using,” he added.
The Ohio Health Department will meanwhile be sponsoring the said incentive program, according to the report. The money will come from federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Aside from having received at least one vaccine shot, those who will get a chance at becoming millionaires should also be at least 18 years old and are Ohio residents.
Five vaccinated residents who are 17 years old or younger – also randomly selected – will, meanwhile, be given full four-year scholarships to any college or university in Ohio, including free tuition, room, board and books, according to the report.
“I know that some may say, ‘DeWine, you’re crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money.’ But truly, the real waste at this point in the pandemic—when the vaccine is readily available to anyone who wants it—is a life lost to COVID-19,” the governor was quoted as saying. Ian Biong /ra
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