North Carolina lottery officials have drawn the first two winners of the state’s vaccine lottery. The two winners, plus several alternatives, were randomly selected Wednesday morning, and officials are now reaching out to them to confirm their identity and eligibility.
One of them is a vaccinated teenager who will win a $125,000 college scholarship. The other is a vaccinated adult who will win a $1 million cash prize.
Hattie Gawande with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says vaccinated residents should be on the lookout for a call or an email Wednesday.
"We will be calling to notify them that they’ve won the prize, try and confirm that they are willing to meet terms and conditions and then send over forms," Gawande said. "We will not ask them to transmit any banking details, which is really important. All we’re going to do is ask them to submit some forms confirming their identity."
Gawande says if the state is unable to make contact with the winners within 48 hours, or if the winners are unwilling to meet terms and conditions, they will move on to the alternatives.
"If somebody doesn’t respond to us within 48 hours, then we’ll have to move to an alternative," she said. "If they don’t respond to us within 48 hours we’ll move on to the next alternate. So it could be days, but we’re hoping it’ll be pretty quick."
She says it could take several days before the winners are announced.
The state will hold another drawing in two weeks. Any resident ages 12 and up who receives at least one dose will be eligible.