What to Know
- The next "Vax for the Win" incentive drawing will be held on Tuesday, when 10 vaccinated Californians will be selected to receive $1.5 million.
- Winners will either receive a phone call from a "State of CA CDPH" caller ID, text message, email address or be visited in person by the California Department of Public Health's district staff.
- The governor said he will sign two executive orders to wind back the coronavirus restrictions so California can reopen on June 15.
Another lucky San Diegan was selected to receive a $50,000 cash prize on Friday as part of California's "Vax for the Win" incentive program, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced from Vista.
Newsom was in North County to announce the second group of Californians selected to win the hefty cash prize in "$50,000 Fridays" for being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The event promises to give a total of 30 lucky winners the cash prize by selecting vaccinated Californians at random.
Numbers are chosen with a gravity pick machine that represent a particular resident.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives
Newsom explained that those numbers, called unique indicators, have no sensitive or identifiable information on a person’s name or any HIPAA-related information. He said the unique indicators allow the Department of Public to send the numbers to the lottery, who is then able to translate the numbers so winners can be contacted.
Already 15 Californians were selected for the cash prize last week with three residents from San Diego County being selected to receive $50,000. Fifteen more residents were selected at Friday’s announcement. Their names were not revealed but the counties in which they reside were.
Friday's winners were selected from the following counties:
- 45 – Monterey County
- 13 – Sacramento
- 47 – Alameda
- 19 – Los Angeles
- 38 – Los Angeles
- 48 – San Francisco
- 40 – Los Angeles
- 34 – Fresno
- 33 – San Diego
- 21 – San Mateo
- 42 – Santa Clara
- 6 – Riverside
- 11 – Orange
- 32 – Kern
- 2 – Santa Clara
In last week's drawing, three San Diego County residents were among the 15 winners selected for the prize. One of those individuals could not be contacted, which means the state will randomly choose a backup Californian to fill that spot.
The big cash prize of $1.5 million, which the state called a “thank you” to residents who have been vaccinated, will be given to 10 Californians whose numbers will be drawn on June 15 as part of the incentive program’s last cash prize drawing.
“I would highly encourage you if you’re on the fence to go out and get vaccinated before Tuesday," Newsom said in the press conference. "If you do, you’ll automatically be entered in a drawing to win $1.5 million. Ten individuals will receive $1.5 million in a drawing we’ll be doing on Tuesday.”
Winners for "$50,000 Fridays" and for next week's $1.5 million cash prize will be contacted by officials from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). They will either receive a phone call from a "State of CA CDPH" caller ID, text message, email address or in person by the department's district staff.
The Golden State’s incentive program is a $116.5 million initiative to encourage residents to get their COVID-19 vaccines; it is the country’s largest vaccine incentive program and also includes $50 gift cards to newly vaccinated folks.
"Vax for the Win" was created to encourage as many California residents as possible to get vaccinated ahead of the state's June 15 reopening date. Newsom said that just because the state will fully reopen next week does not mean the state will stop working on combating the virus.
“Our efforts do not end on June 15," he said. "Incentives do not end on June 15. We look forward to making more announcements on more incentives as we move into the next few weeks and the next few months.”
Newsom said new incentive efforts include a free Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos from Taco Bell and a free Queso Blanco with the purchase of any item from Chipotle on June 15. Those who show their COVID-19 vaccination card will be eligible for the promotion.
On the subject of June 15, the governor said he plans to sign two executive orders to officially move California out of its current coronavirus restrictions and to get rid of its Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which includes the color-coded tiered system counties have been following in regards to reopenings and restrictions.
In the meantime, Newsom cautioned the public to stay safe as vacation season approaches and urged residents to get their vaccine.
“This disease does not take the summer months off. This disease does not extinguish itself," Newsom said. "We have work to do to get these vaccination rates up and we have ongoing work to do to make sure it’s in an equitable manner.”
