The first of 12 prizes in the VaxCash 2.0 Promotion has been awarded to a 71-year-old Dundalk resident who visited Lottery Headquarters in Baltimore on Feb. 23 to claim the prize.
The winner, who chose to remain anonymous and use the nickname “Mi Familia,” received a call from the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) on Feb. 15 informing her of the win. She was in disbelief until she walked into the Lottery Winner’s Circle, where she enthusiastically danced around the room with Lottery staff.
“I didn’t believe it was real, until today,” the excited winner told Lottery officials. When asked why she chose to get the COVID-19 vaccine and booster, she said that she wanted protection from the virus.
“My mom convinced many of our family members to get the vaccine, too,” the winner’s daughter said. “She believes it is so important.”
The VaxCash 2.0 Promotion, which was announced by Governor Larry Hogan on Feb. 8, will award $2 million in cash prizes in weekly drawings from Feb. 15 to May 3. VaxCash 2.0 aims to incentivize Marylanders to get the COVID-19 booster. All Maryland residents 18 and older who have received an initial shot(s) and a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at eligible facilities in Maryland at any time are eligible to win. No registration or entry is needed.
In addition to the $500,000 prize awarded to the Dundalk winner, 10 weekly drawings from Feb. 23 through April 26 will award $50,000 prizes. And the promotion will end on May 3 with a drawing to award a grand prize of $1 million.
The mother-of-three plans to use her winnings to buy her dream house.
“My mother is superwoman,” the winner’s daughter said. “She spent her life raising my siblings and me. This is her much-deserved compensation.”
VaxCash 2.0 follows last year’s successful collaboration between the Lottery and MDH for the VaxCash Promotion that ran from May 25 through July 4, 2021, awarding $2 million in prizes to vaccinated Marylanders. For complete details about VaxCash 2.0, including the official rules and a list of frequently asked questions and answers, visit the VaxCash 2.0 page.
