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CHARLESTON -- Gov. Jim Justice released more details Tuesday about a plan to reward West Virginians who get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines available.
During his coronavirus briefing Tuesday, Justice said the vaccine lotteries will start Sunday, June 20, coinciding with West Virginia's 158th birthday and Father's Day, and end on Wednesday, Aug. 4. A website to register for the lottery will be available soon.
"Save a life and change your life," Justice said. "The more we can get vaccinated, the closer we'll get to saving all kinds of additional lives and saving lots and lots of money to the State of West Virginia."
The vaccine lottery is open to all eligible West Virginians who have received at least one dose of the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, or eligible West Virginians who have been fully vaccinated since December 2020 when vaccine doses were first made available.
The lottery is open to all eligible ages, from 12 and older.
Prizes include two four-year full-ride college scholarships for in-state public institutions for eligible West Virginians between the ages of 12-25; two custom-built Ford F-150 pickup trucks; 25 weekend passes for West Virginia State Parks; five lifetime hunting and fishing licenses; five custom rifles and five custom shotguns; a chance at $1 million each week; and a chance at $1,588,000 million at the end of the lottery period Aug. 4, with the runner-up receiving $588,000.
"When I start through these prizes, what's going to happen is there is going to be a run on people getting their first shot, so go get them so you can be eligible so we can draw your name," Justice said. "Absolutely you could win something that would be phenomenal. With all of that, you've got to get your first shot."
West Virginia's drawing comes on the heels of Ohio's first of five $1 million vaccine lottery drawings. Other states are also offering differing incentives to get more people vaccinated as COVID-19 infections in the U.S. decrease. Funding for the lotteries are coming from remaining federal CARES Act funds. West Virginia is already offering vaccinated residents between the ages of 16-35 either a $100 prepaid debit card or a $100 U.S. savings bond once they register at governor.wv.gov.
According to the Department of Health and Human Resources, 58.7% of eligible West Virginians age 12 and older have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly 84% of West Virginians age 65 and older are partially vaccinated. Justice set a goal last month of reaching 65% for partially vaccinated residents by June 20, when the indoor mask mandate will go away for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
West Virginia dropped to 4,550 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday -- the lowest number of active cases since Oct. 27, 2020. The new active case number represents about 0.25% of the state's 1.79 million residents. Hospitalizations remain low at 207, though 39% of those hospitalized are in intensive care unit beds. The state reported five deaths, bringing the total COVID-19 death total to 2,797.