Washington Announces 2nd Vaccine Lottery Program For Military

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington state is launching a second vaccine lottery program targeted at military members, veterans and their families.

"Not every state is honoring our heroes as we are, and I'm glad we're able to do this," Gov. Jay Inslee at a news conference announcing the new lottery Thursday.

The new lottery will run alongside the existing "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery and is called "A Heroes Thanks". As the governor explains, Washington had been looking for ways to bring vaccine incentives to the state's active duty military members and veterans, and has landed on the idea of a new, separate lottery for those who have been vaccinated by the Department of Defense or Veterans Affairs.

The previous lottery program had to exclude those Washingtonians because the Department of Defense does not share its vaccination data with the Washington State Immunization Information System, the pool from which "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery winners are drawn.

The separate military's data is also one of the reasons the White House and the Washington State Department of Health report different vaccination rates for the state of Washington.

Inslee was joined by Director of Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Alfie Alvarado Thursday, who urged veterans and active duty military members to get their shots and protect their health.

"The vaccine saves lives, and we need you here," Alvarado said. "We urge all our veterans, service members, and their families to take the shots."

Like the original "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery,"A Heroes Thanks" will have weekly drawings, beginning July 20 and last for three weeks. For the first two weeks, a person in the pool, a veteran or someone in active duty, will receive an award of $100,000. The third and final drawing will award a $250,000 cash prize. Other winners will receive Amazon and state park gift cards.

And of course, as Alvarado pointed out, everyone who gets vaccinated wins an even greater prize: their health.

"You can be a winner in this special lottery, but more importantly you can be a winner at life," said Alvarado.

Veterans and military family members are automatically enrolled in the lottery, but active duty personnel will need to manually enter to win due to the miltary's data restrictions.

Inslee said both lotteries are key in getting Washington to the 70 percent vaccination threshold for at least the first dose that will allow the state to reopen. Before announcing the "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery, Inslee said new vaccinations had begun to significantly decline.

"We essentially had fallen off a cliff," Inslee said.

At the news conference Thursday, the governor also announced a new incentive program for medical providers which would reimburse costs for those who reach out to unvaccinated patients.

According to the latest available data, 67.81 percent of Washingtonians 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. If that rate hits 70 percent before the end of the month, Washington will lift almost all remaining pandemic restrictions. If not, those restrictions will be lifted on June 30.

Related stories:

When Washington Reopens, Some Restrictions Will Remain: Inslee

Washington Edges Closer To 70 Percent Vaccination

251 Winning Numbers Drawn During Washington's 2nd Vaccine Lottery