The final Vax-a-Million winners were announced tonight on live television as Ohio wraps up the COVID-19 vaccine incentive lottery.
Esperanza Diaz of Butler County won the final $1 million prize and Sydney Daum of Brecksville in Cuyahoga County won the full-ride scholarship.
Over the last month the state has awarded four $1 million prizes and four full college scholarships to Ohioans 12 and older who have received at least one vaccine dose.
Ohio was the first state to create a vaccine initiative with a million-dollar and college scholarship incentive to help promote vaccinations to ease the coronavirus pandemic. Following the May announcement, multiple states including Kentucky, California, Colorado and New York have started similar campaigns.
This week, 3,469,542 Ohioans 18 and older were entered in the drawing for the $1 million prize and 154,889 people ages 12 to 17 were entered for the college scholarship, according to the Ohio Department of Health. It was an increase of 41,028 adult entries and 4,702 scholarship entries from last week.
More than 5,528,000 people in Ohio received at least one dose of the vaccine and 5,081,019 have completed it, according to ODH data released Wednesday. More than 560,000 Ohioans have started the vaccination process since May 13, the day after Gov. Mike DeWine announced the initiative.
Ohio is using federal CARES Act money to fund the prizes.
The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO.com.
