When will California announce new Vaccine Lottery winners and how many?
California will announce the next 15 winners in the "Vax for the Win" state covid-19 vaccine lottery Friday, 11 June in run-up to the grand prize next week.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced 27 May that the state would dole out $116 million in prizes to state residents who have been fully vaccinated. The first 15 winners of $50,000 cash prizes were announced 4 June, with another 15 to be announced at the end of this week.
The lottery will culminate Tuesday, 15 June, when the state will reopen loosening covid-19 restrictions, with a drawing for 10 winners who will receive $1.5 million each. Just about anyone who lives in the state that is 12 or older will be eligible to claim the prizes once they have completed their vaccination series.
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The money for the combined "Vax for the Win" prize pot of $116.5 million, which is the largest vaccine lottery currently in the US, comes from the state’s disaster response fund and federal covid-19 relief money. The hope was to encourage more Californians to go out and get vaccinated. Whether it was the prizes that enticed them or they finally got around to it, since announcing the lottery, the state has at least partially vaccinated around 2 million more state residents.
Who can participate in the "Vax for the Win" lottery
All the Californians who were vaccinated in the state prior to the Governor announcing the creation of the lottery system had their names automatically put into to drawing. For those who haven’t been vaccinated there is no complicated registration process to contend with to be entered into the draw, simply ensure that you get your first vaccine dose and you will be automatically signed up. However, in order to claim the prize those whose names are drawn must complete the vaccine series, two-doses for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, just one shot of Johnson & Johnson.
The only vaccinated Californians who will not be entered into the draw are incarcerated residents, and some state employees (California State Lottery, California Department of Public Health, the Government Operations Agency, California Health and Human Services Agency, the governor’s office) and their families.
What are the odds of winning the "Vax for the Win" lottery
The chance of winning the $1 million "Vax for the Win" grand prize are roughly 1 in 2.2 million at the moment with 22 million names in the pool, considerably better than winning the $1 million Powerball at over 1 in 11.6 million. To entice people to head out right away the state also offered the first 2 million who got their initial jab a $50 gift card to be spent at any Albertsons or Kroger-operated grocery store. Those 12 and older could also choose a $50 Mastercard option, which can be spent anywhere.
The next drawing of the lower tier prize of $50,000 will be announced Friday, 11 June, with the odds a little over 1 in 1.6 million. Those who miss out on either the first or second drawing for the second place prize will automatically be in the running for the top prize of $1.5 million, which will be drawn on Tuesday 15 June. If anyone chooses not to collect the prize, names will be drawn from a backup list.
But remember, in order to claim the prizes, and the gift cards, you must finish the vaccination series.