Random generator selects which vaccinated North Carolinian wins 1 million dollars
Despite the cash incentive, health officials report little change in vaccination numbers.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - North Carolina chose the first of four winners who will get one million dollars for being vaccinated.
The first winner’s name was drawn Wednesday morning using a random number generator, alongside the first of four winners under 18 who will get a college scholarship.
“I think that there’s about 4.9 million folks in the million-dollar drawing and about 348,000 folks in the scholarship drawing,” said Hattie Gawande, the senior policy and intergovernmental affairs advisor for NCDHHS.
Despite the cash incentive, the lottery may not be working the way the state had hoped.
Dr. John Silvernail, the Health Director for Pitt County, reports little change in vaccine rates.
“It has been painfully slow in terms of uptick,” he explained.
“We have not seen a large uptick since the announcement of the lottery. We have crept up about a percentage point per week in each category.”
It’s the same story for several counties across the state. North Carolina’s vaccination rate continues to lag behind that of the rest of the country.
But this isn’t the end of the road.
“We have three more drawings coming up so people can still get twice the chance to get their scholarship or get the million dollars if they go and get vaccinated today,” said Gawande.
The first winners selected will have 48 hours to accept their prize. It may take days to learn their identities, as they will have to get in contact with the state and consent to both receiving the prize and having their name released.
President Biden will be in Raleigh tomorrow to further encourage North Carolinians to get vaccinated.
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