COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) — The lucky winners of Ohio’s fifth and final Vax-a-Million drawing were just announced Wednesday evening.
The Ohio Lottery randomly selected the names on Monday, then officials checked to make sure the winners of the $1 million prize and full-ride scholarship were eligible.
Esperanza Diaz, of Cincinnati in Hamilton County, was the winner of the $1 million prize.
Sydney Daum, 13, of Brecksville in Cuyahoga County, won the four-year, all-expenses-paid scholarship.
The Daum family is in total shock that Sydney won, the Governor’s Office confirmed to FOX 8.
Officials will hold a press conference Thursday at 10 a.m. with more information about the winners.
The lottery said that this week, 3,469,542 Ohioans tried for the $1 million prize, while 154,889 teens (those 12-17) entered to win the college scholarship, numbers both up from last week.
Week four was the only week that Northeast Ohio has not been represented in the Vax-A-Million winnings.
While the Vax-a-Million lottery has ended, Ohio’s leaders are still looking to see an increase in the percentage of vaccinated residents. As of Wednesday about 47-percent of the state had started the vaccination process.
Governor Mike DeWine said last Friday that vaccination numbers during the first two weeks of the Vax-A-Million campaign were “phenomenal” — but that has dropped. He says his team is looking at other incentives to get more shots in arms.
“We are not done. You will see some more initiatives from us. We will be announcing some things next week and the week after and the week after. So we’re still very focused on this,” said DeWine.