NYers Getting Vaccines Can Win Up To $5 Million As Incentive

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — With coronavirus restrictions relaxed across New York State as of Wednesday due to decreasing positivity rates, there is still "troubling news" as vaccination rates plummet, with a 43 percent decline reported, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday during a news conference in Buffalo.

To that end, Cuomo announced a new incentive to get people to roll up their sleeves: From Monday, May 24 to Friday, May 28, every New Yorker heading to one of the state's 10 mass vaccination sites will have the chance to win up to $5 million through the "vax and scratch" initiative.

Each person vaccinated will receive a free $5 million Mega Multiplier scratch-off ticket that normally costs $20, with prizes ranging from $20 up to $5 million. The chances of winning a prize are one in nine, Cuomo said.

In the Hudson Valley, the scratch-off tickets will be handed out at the National Guard Armory in Yonkers.

Along with the chance of a lottery prize, there is the bonus of being able to go maskless in most areas and other benefits to being vaccinated, Cuomo said. "Everyone wins," he said.

The governor also announced that beginning next week New York will offer pop-up vaccination sites at seven airports across the state for all U.S. residents arriving or departing, as well as airport workers.

The airports include Westchester County Airport, Albany International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.

As of Thursday, the state's coronavirus positivity rate stood at 0.85 percent, with 18 deaths reported. Cuomo said the positivity rate was the lowest level since Sept. 11.

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