MI Hopes Its COVID Lottery Finds More Success Than Other States

LANSING, MI — More than 1 million Michiganders have signed up for the state's COVID-19 vaccine lottery, according to state health officials. But the plan — which aims to increase vaccination numbers across the state, a feat attempted by other states that have come up short — still has a ways to go before it reaches its long-term goal.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday that the MI Shot to Win Sweepstakes — which was announced last week and includes more than $5 million in winnings — had reached the milestone number of applicants.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Whitmer said, 1,001,149 people had signed up for the grand prizes, with 44,966 young Michiganders signed up for the scholarship drawing.

“The response by Michiganders to the MI Shot To Win Sweepstakes is outstanding,” Whitmer said. “It’s exciting to see so many people signing up for the sweepstakes as they are the best messengers who can encourage their family and friends to get their COVID-19 vaccinations and help answer any questions they have about the process.”

Read More: Michigan COVID Vaccination Lottery: What To Know

The sweepstakes began Thursday and will end on Aug. 3. Officials have said the aim of the MI Shot To Win Sweepstakes is to increase the state’s vaccination rate by roughly 9 percent to achieve its goal of 70 percent of residents age 16 and older who are immunized.

As of July 4, 2021, 61.9 percent of Michiganders age 16 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, according to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services data.

The MI Shot To Win Sweepstakes is the latest kickoff in a series of lottery-style raffles by other states such as Ohio’s first-in-the-nation launch of the "Vax-a-Million" campaign. But Michiganders are hopeful their state will find more success at using the campaign as a means to increase vaccinations.

The Vax-a-Million lottery did not significantly impact Ohio's COVID-19 vaccination rates, a study from Boston University found.

In fact, reports of increasing vaccination rates following Gov. Mike DeWine's announcement of the lottery — which have been cited by the Whitmer administration in its announcement of a similar campaign in the Mitten State — likely were the result of expanding eligibility to people younger than 16, the study concluded.

See More: Ohio Lottery Did Not Increase COVID-19 Vaccination Rates: Study