After drawing the name two days ago, Ohio has announced the $1M winner of the state's first vaccine lottery.
Abbigail Bugenske from Silverton in Hamilton County is the first winner of the million-dollar sweepstakes. The winner of the full-ride scholarship is Joseph Costello from Englewood in Montgomery County.
In the two weeks since announcing the vaccine lottery, 261,742 more people have received the COVID-19 shot. That's a 26% increase in vaccinations compared to the two weeks leading up to the announcement. And more than 2.7 million people have entered their names into the drawing.
DeWine says he wanted the "Ohio Vax-A-Million" lottery to create new incentive for people to get the vaccine, and that it's surpassed his expectations.
Meanwhile, there's a push to stop the lottery through a bill in the Ohio House and a lawsuit filed in the Ohio Supreme Court by an anti-vaccination group.
But the sweepstakes is set to continue. A name has already been drawn with the auditor's office witnessing the process.
The state will also announce the winner of the college scholarship among the drawing of entrants between the ages of 12-17.
