Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Announces COVID Vaccinated Residents Are Eligible to Win $1 Million

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a major incentive for state residents who get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Republican governor announced on Wednesday that people who get at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine will automatically be entered in a lottery drawing to win $1 million dollars.

“Two weeks from tonight on May 26th, we will announce a winner of a separate drawing for adults who have received at least their first dose of the vaccine. This announcement will occur each Wednesday for five weeks, and the winner each Wednesday will receive one million dollars,” DeWine shared on Twitter.

DeWine explained that the names drawn in the lottery will be pulled from “the Ohio Secretary of State’s publicly available voter registration database,” anyone who is not registered to vote can sign up for the lottery on a website that is going to be shared in the next few days. 

“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,” DeWine stated.

He also revealed that the lottery money being given away is coming “from existing federal Coronavirus Relief Funds.”

DeWine acknowledged potential critics who will argue this incentive is pushing people to get vaccinated.

“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,” he explained.

Two weeks from tonight on May 26th, we will announce a winner of a separate drawing for adults who have received at least their first dose of the vaccine. This announcement will occur each Wednesday for five weeks, and the winner each Wednesday will receive one million dollars.

— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 12, 2021