Ohio Vaccine Lottery Eligibility: How To Win $1 Million Or Full College Scholarship?

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday announced a lottery program that would incentivize residents to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

The novel incentive program, which Republican Gov. DeWine announced in a series of tweets, will select five random winners every Wednesday beginning May 26 through June 23. The winners will each receive $1 million. The initiative will be paid for by the state’s federal coronavirus relief funds.

“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,” DeWine wrote in a post.

To be eligible to win the vaccine lottery, residents must be at least be 18 years of age or older on the day the Ohio Lottery draws the winner. Participants must also be Ohio residents and must have received at least the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The pool of names for the $1 million lottery drawing will be taken from the Ohio Secretary of State’s publicly available voter registration database. The state will also launch an online portal where residents can sign up for the drawing.

DeWine said Ohio residents younger than 18 can also enter their names into a separate drawing. The winners of this drawing will be given "a four-year full scholarship to any of Ohio's state colleges and universities, including full tuition, room, and board.”

“On May 18th, an electronic portal will be opened up for young people who have been vaccinated to be able to register. We will do this every Wednesday, for five straight Wednesdays -- each time randomly selecting one student to receive the full, four-year scholarship,” the governor announced.

Many states across the United States have promoted incentive programs for residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine. These states include West Virginia, where people aged 16 to 35 may receive $100 saving bonds; New Jersey, where vaccine recipients get free beers; and New York, where people receiving their COVID-19 vaccine shots at a subway vaccination site get free Metrocards.