Ohio Vax-A-Million Lottery Winner Announced: Who Won $1 Million?

Ohio has announced that a woman from the state’s southwest is the first winner of its $1 million Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prize, while a Dayton-area teen has won the program’s four-year full scholarship.

The state selected the first round of winners in a random drawing Monday and the names were announced Wednesday night at the end of the Ohio Lottery’s Cash Explosion TV show. Abbigail Bugenske of Silverton near Cincinnati won $1 million, while Joseph Costello of Englewood near Dayton was the winner of the college scholarship.

In a bid to improve vaccination rates, Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, on May 12 launched an incentive program that would select five people to receive a $1 million prize each. The state would also select five residents younger than 18 to receive a full-ride scholarship to any of the state’s colleges and universities.

To be eligible for the vaccine lottery, residents must have received at least the first shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. It is also open to those who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Four more winners of the $1 million vaccination lottery prize and four full-ride college scholarship winners will be announced each Wednesday for the next four weeks. The names of participants who do not win will be carried over to the following week’s lottery.

“Congratulations to Abbigail and Joseph! The next #OhioVaxAMillion drawing will take place one week from today. Vaccinated Ohioans who haven't yet entered to win can sign up at ohiovaxamillion.com,” DeWine posted on Twitter.

The Republican governor said the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rate jumped by 45% after he announced the Vax-a-Million lottery, adding that some residents “moved up” their scheduled appointments to be able to participate in the lottery.

The lottery also increased vaccination rates among residents aged 16 and 17 by at least 94%, the governor told CNN.

More than 2.7 million adults registered their names for the $1 million prize pool, while over 104,000 children between the ages of 12 and 17 entered the drawing for the four-year scholarship.

President Joe Biden previously set a goal of having 70% of American adults receive at least one dose of any FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. As of Monday, nine states -- New Mexico, Vermont, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, and Rhode Island -- have already hit the goal.