Maryland will launch a $2m lottery to encourage Covid-19 booster vaccination among state residents. Governor Larry Hogan said that under the "VaxCash 2.0 Promotion" campaign, Maryland will be awarding cash prizes to a total of 12 residents who have received their booster shots.
The campaign will start February 15 with an initial prize drawing of $500,000.
Random drawings of $50,000 each will be awarded during the following 10 weeks to 10 adults who receive the Covid-19 booster.
A grand prize of $1m will be given the final winner when the campaign wraps up on May 3.
The state has already had similar campaigns promote vaccination among adults and children, which are credited for helping Maryland achieve its 73% vaccination rate.
According to Hogan, 95% of Maryland adults have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Though the state has administered 4,085,827 second-dose shots, only 2,076,085 of the residents have received their booster doses, according to research from the Maryland Department of Health. The data also showed that while 72% of the senior citizens have been boosted, close to half of adults who are 18 and older have not yet received the booster.
"The biggest takeaway from the Omicron surge is just how critically important it is to get a booster shot," Hogan said.
"It is clear that getting fully protected with a booster is the single most important thing you can do right now to minimize the impact of Covid-19 and its variants and to help us all finally move on from this pandemic.”
