{"id":46595,"date":"2021-05-26T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/get-a-covid-vaccine-enter-to-win-1-million-in-colorado\/"},"modified":"2021-05-26T16:45:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:45:00","slug":"get-a-covid-vaccine-enter-to-win-1-million-in-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/get-a-covid-vaccine-enter-to-win-1-million-in-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Get a COVID vaccine, enter to win $1 million in Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A subject receives a shot March 16 in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine by Moderna for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. According to results released on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, early-stage testing showed the first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S. revved up people\u2019s immune systems the way scientists had hoped. The vaccine is made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.<\/span>Associated Press file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

You can gamble on contracting COVID-19 or you can get vaccinated and enter a chance to win $1 million.<\/p>\n

Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday unveiled the Colorado Comeback Cash Vaccine Drive, a coronavirus vaccine sweepstakes program aimed at boosting the state\u2019s plateauing inoculation rates, especially in parts of the state where the disease is still raging.<\/p>\n

There will be five, $1 million drawings on consecutive Fridays starting June 4. (The final drawing is on a Wednesday.) There will be one winner each week. People cannot win twice.<\/p>\n

Polis estimates there is a 1 in 500,000 chance of winning the sweepstakes. About 2.5 million Coloradans \u2013 or about 59% of the state\u2019s population \u2013 had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have been delaying plans to get vaccinated or are still on the fence, now is the time to swing big. It could transform your life,\u201d Polis said. \u201cThis is $1 million, cash in the barrel that you can use today. Buy a new home. Take that vacation. Take six months off. Do whatever you like. One million dollars goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it will work: Everyone who has received at least a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in Colorado and is a resident will be eligible for the prize. People should receive at least one vaccine dose by June 30 to be entered into the last drawing on July 7, which is a Wednesday.<\/p>\n

To be entered into the first drawing, people should get vaccinated by June 1. Getting fully vaccinated multiple times would not increase someone\u2019s chances of winning.<\/p>\n

The drawing will be handled by the Colorado Lottery, and winners will be contacted and asked if their personal health information can be used to award them the prize. State officials know who is inoculated because of the Colorado Immunization Information System.<\/p>\n

Winners can decline to claim their prize, \u201cbut you\u2019d be pretty foolish not to,\u201d Polis said.<\/p>\n

The program mimics a nearly identical \u201cVax-a-Million\u201d initiative in Ohio. That state saw a surge in vaccinations after its governor announced a plan to offer five $1 million drawings for those who have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. More than 2.7 million people have signed up for Ohio\u2019s vaccine giveaway.<\/p>\n

Several other states have tried to replicate Ohio\u2019s success, including New York and Maryland.<\/p>\n

Colorado consulted with Ohio as it sought to launch its own vaccine sweepstakes initiative. The Colorado Attorney General\u2019s Office also helped the Polis administration form the program.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s initiative is explicitly not a lottery, because a lottery is something you buy into. It\u2019s a sweepstakes \u2014 or something you enter into.<\/p>\n

The award money is coming from the CARES Act, the federal coronavirus stimulus bill passed in March 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is money that would have otherwise gone toward advertising and marketing,\u201d Polis said. \u201cWe feel this compliments some of the advertising and outreach that we\u2019re doing and will generate even more interest in the vaccine than if we had simple spent this money on television commercials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coloradans must be at least 18 years old at the time they win the sweepstakes to be eligible. The winnings are subject to taxes.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Anderson, deputy executive director of the Colorado Lottery, said all vaccine providers in the state have to provide information to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on who they\u2019ve vaccinated, including their phone numbers and addresses. She expressed confidence that anyone who has been inoculated will automatically be entered into the sweepstakes.<\/p>\n

A random number will be attached to each vaccinated person through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Lottery will select the winning number.<\/p>\n

A scholarship program is being set up for Coloradans ages 12 to 17 who are vaccinated.<\/p>\n

An estimated 70% to 80% of Coloradans must be vaccinated in order for the state to reach herd immunity.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sweepstakes expected to spur more vaccinations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[233,685,28,29,668],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-46595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-coloradosun-com","tag-coronavirus-covid-19","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-public-health"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46595"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=46595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}