Second $1 million winner selected in NC COVID-19 vaccine lottery

RALEIGH, N.C. — A second person is now a millionaire just because they got a COVID-19 vaccine.

The NCDHHS drew its second $1 million COVID-19 vaccine lottery winner, although the person’s identity has not been released.

In fact, that person may not yet know they won, as NCDHHS said it can take a couple days to contact the winner.

A second winner was also drawn for $125,000 in scholarship money.

The drawings are part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s push to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19.

Currently, 49% of people in Mecklenburg County have had a least one dose of the vaccine.

Two weeks ago, health officials told Channel 9 that the state’s lottery program has yet to increase vaccination numbers. This week, they are still holding out hope, especially as the Delta variant of COVID emerges as the dominant strain among new cases.

Dr. David Priest at Novant Health said he worries about the impact the Delta variant could have in the community, and is encouraging people to get vaccinated.

“I saw this morning that it’s believed that the Delta variant now represents 40% of cases within the U.S. and that number is climbing,” he said. “It again speaks to, the longer it takes to get immunity in a lot of people, the fewer people that are vaccinated, the likely these variants are to arise.”

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced new strategies to get people vaccinated. Some include expanding vaccines to family care doctors who focus on younger Americans, brining in vaccinations to more workplaces, and mobilizing new teams that can help states with low vaccination rates.

North Carolina’s lottery drawings are performed with a random number generator. Each vaccinated person is linked with one of the random numbers that can be selected.

After the drawing, NCDHHS will determine if the person whose number was drawn is eligible to win the money. After that, officials will reach out to the winners via email or phone. The process can take several days.

This program will continue with two more chances for you to win.

Remaining drawings are scheduled for July 21 and August 4.

(WATCH BELOW: NC teacher, 14-year-old named first winners of vaccination lottery)

NC teacher, 14-year-old named first winners of vaccination lottery

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