To encourage take up of the Covid vaccine in Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced on May 12, 2021, the Vax-A-Million lottery. According to an article on WebMD, “the [lottery] awards $1 million to five vaccinated adults and a full-ride scholarship to Ohio public colleges to five vaccinated teenagers. On Wednesday, the first broadcast aired announcing two winners: Abigail Bugenske won the $1 million draw, and Joseph Costello won a scholarship” (Oliver).
Eligibility was open to permanent residents of Ohio aged 18 or older who had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine by the Sunday prior to each drawing. Although state law required that prizes be awarded to residents aged 18 or older, an exception was made for minors aged 12-17. Those who had been vaccinated would be awarded a full scholarship to any public university in Ohio. The lottery lasted five weeks.
Social Media Trends as of May 5, 2022
Facebook #vaxamillion: people are posting about this
Instagram #vaxamillion: 672 posts
TikTok #vaxamillion: 96,000 views
YouTube #vaxamillion: less than 100 videos and channels
Google Trends: A few days after Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced the lottery, the search term Vax-A-Million reached peak interest during the week of May 16, 2021.
Sources:
“Ohio Vax-A-Million” logo. Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:OhioVAM.jpg&oldid=1023910299.
Oliver, Dejania. “Ohio Announces First Vax-a-Million Winners.” WebMD. May 27, 2021. URL: https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20210527/ohio-announces-first-vax-a-million-winners.
