Who are the winners of the VaxMillions in Massachusetts?
The state had been offering five cash prizes of $1 million to people over 18 who are fully vaccinated.
The state is hosting a weekly przie drawer in an attempt to entice people to be vaccinated. For over 18s the prize is $1 million dollars with a draw every week for five weeks. For residents between 12 and 17 the prize is a $300,000 scholarship grant.
The first winner of the $1 million was Darrell Washington from Weymouth, while Daniela Maldonado from Chelsea won the scholarship grant.
“Congratulations to Darrell Washington and Daniela Maldonado on winning the first-round drawing for the VaxMillions Giveaway,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Since we launched VaxMillions, over 2.3 million residents have signed up and hundreds of thousands of residents have gotten vaccinated, building on Massachusetts’ nation-leading success in protecting our residents. Massachusetts continues to out-perform virtually every state on vaccinations
How do I enter?
Eligible residents are able to enter the giveaway at VaxMillionsGiveaway.com. For residents who do not have access to the internet or require assistance, a call center can be reached by calling 2-1-1 during the below hours:
Monday-Thursday: 8:30 AM-6:00 PM
Friday: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Saturday-Sunday: 9:00 AM-2:00 PM
Massachusetts VaxMillions remaining dates
| Registration Deadine | How many drawings do I qualify for? | Drawing date | Announcement date |
| July 29 | All 4 | August 2 | August 5 |
| August 5 | Next 3 | August 9 | August 12 |
| August 12 | Next 2 | August 16 | August 19 |
| August 19 | Only final | August 23 | August 26 |
Why are states hosting vaccine lotteries?
The US has seen dwindling vaccination rates in recent months, with just under 50% of the country fully vaccinated. With the resurgence of covid-19, with the Delta variant at the forefront, states are looking for any way to encourage residents to be vaccinated to prevent another wave. Many other states, including New York and California, have also created vaccine lotteries in a bid to drive up vaccination numbers.
President Biden, along with New York and California, has announced that federal workers will need to be vaccinated by labor day in another attempt to convince people to be vaccinated.
Has it improved vaccination rates?
Massachusetts launched the VaxMillions lottery on June 15 and the governor claims that hundreds of thousands residents have been vaccinated in the month and a half since. As of yesterday 64% of the state was fully vaccinated and the state reported 54,300 vaccines administered in the last week. However, on the eve of VaxMillions being announced 47,980 people were vaccinated on June 15 alone. It seems the lottery has done little to speed up the rate of vaccination in the state.