COVID-19 Update:?Vax-a-Million Winners, Status of Vaccinations in Ohio

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)?Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted today provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.?

OHIO VAX-A-MILLION

Ohio Vax-A-Million's newest winners joined Governor DeWine this morning to discuss why they chose to be vaccinated and their excitement of being selected during this week's drawing.?

Jonathan Carlyle from Toledo in Lucas County won this week's $1 million prize, and?Zoie Vincent from Mayfield Village in Cuyahoga County won this week's college scholarship prize.?

"I actually had COVID-19, and it was the most sick I'd ever been," said Vincent. "(This) played a significant role in my decision to get a vaccination because, if I can guarantee that I'll never feel this way again or my family won't have to feel this way again, I felt like I would definitely take it, and so I did get the vaccine."

"My sister and her husband both came down with COVID, as well as his father who passed from COVID, and she was on me a lot to go and get the vaccination, and that played a very significant role in me getting my vaccination," said Carlyle. "I was putting it off a lot because I was working all the time, but I knew that I needed to get it and that I wanted to get it. When (Governor DeWine) announced Vax-a-Million, as soon as I heard that, a few days later I got the Johnson & Johnson shot."?

Ohio Vax-a-Million is a public outreach campaign and initiative to increase awareness of the availability and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and provide incentives to Ohioans to get a COVID-19 vaccination.?Ohioans 18 and older who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can enter to win one of five $1 million prizes. Ohioans ages 12-17 who have?received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine?can enter to win a four-year college scholarship to any Ohio state college or university.

For more information and to enter visit?ohiovaxamillion.com. To find a vaccine provider near you, visit gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov.?

STATUS OF VACCINATIONS IN OHIO

More than 50 percent of Ohio's adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, however, Governor DeWine encouraged more Ohioans, especially those in the 18-59 age-range, to get vaccinated.?

Despite the lift in pandemic-related restrictions, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer at the Ohio Department of Health, reminded Ohioans that the unvaccinated, including everyone under the age of 12, are still at risk.?

"COVID remains a very real danger to every unvaccinated Ohioan," said Dr. Vanderhoff. "We often think of COVID as being benign for children, but it is now one of the top 10 causes of death for children in the United States. Vaccination is our best protection against COVID, and we really owe it not just to ourselves to get vaccinated, but to all we care about, including those who are not yet able to be vaccinated. While it is true that younger Ohioans may not have the level of risk that older Ohioans have, bad things can happen to people of any age who get COVID-19."

CASE DATA/VACCINE INFORMATION

In-depth COVID-19 data for Ohio:?coronavirus.ohio.gov.?

Ohio's central scheduling system: gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov

Ohio mass vaccination information: coronavirus.ohio.gov/massvaccinationclinics

All vaccine providers: vaccine.coronavirus.ohio.gov

More vaccine information: coronavirus.ohio.gov/vaccine

Video of today's full update, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on the?Ohio Channel's YouTube page.?

For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit?coronavirus.ohio.gov?or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.

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