(WSIL) -- Governor JB Pritzker announced Thursday the state is offering a chance to win cash and scholarships for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
As an Illinois resident, if you’ve been vaccinated or are about to get vaccinated, you’re automatically entered in for a chance at part of the $10 million vaccine sweepstakes.
More than 70% of Illinois adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.
“All In For The Win is yet another way we’re working to ensure every single resident is protected from COVID-19, and especially, this virusâ€� more dangerous variants,â€Â said Governor JB Pritzker. “Vaccines are incredibly effective and keep you protected â€� and they also make your community safer. Getting the shot is how we truly end this thing, so vax up, Illinois. If you do, you might even hit the jackpot.â€�
Here's what you need to know:
- $10 million is up for grabs in the All In For The Win vaccine sweepstakes.
- All eligible Illinois residents will be automatically entered into two exciting programs:
- Vaccinated adults are entered into a $7 million cash prize pool. Three $1 million jackpots and 40 $100k cash prizes are up for grabs.
- Vaccinated youth are entered into a $3 million scholarship pool. Twenty $150k scholarship awards are being offered.
- Getting vaccinated before July 1st gets you entry into every draw and the most chances to win a prize, including the first million-dollar top prize on July 8th. IDPH will continue to check records before each drawing.
- The first drawing takes place on Thursday, July 8th and will continue through the end of August.
- After each draw, IDPH will reach out to the winners to ask for authorization to share their name and contact information with the Illinois Lottery. At no time will any state entity other than IDPH have information about a participant or winner without their consent. The Illinois Lottery will then help the winner through the claim process to receive their prize.
Governor Pritzker's announcement is getting reactions from local residents. News 3 went out to the community today to see what people thought of the sweepstakes and the people that we met were not too thrilled.
They told News 3 they think it's a waste of money and they believe creating incentives to get the vaccine won't change some people's mind.
"I'm concerned in a sense about where the money is coming from to implement that and I think healthcare is a personal decision and choice and you should want to get it without having to get a prize for it," said Carterville resident, Susan Hawkinson.
"I think it's a joke considering I love two things: and that's my family and the veterans. And look at all of these disabled veterans that could use this money and he's going to throw it away. You know what I mean?" said Carterville resident, Bryan Murray.
You can learn more about the vaccine sweepstakes by going to .
