Dundalk Mom Of 3 Claims $500K Booster Shot Lottery Winnings
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An anonymous 71-year-old Dundalk woman claimed $500,000 Wednesday in Baltimore as the first of 12 VaxCash 2.0 winners, the Maryland Lottery said.
VaxCash 2.0 is the state's $2 million vaccine lottery to encourage booster shots.
The winner, who used the nickname "Mi Familia," received a call from the Maryland Department of Health on Feb. 15 informing her of the win. She didn't believe it until she reached the Maryland Lottery's Baltimore headquarters, the organization said.
"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, the lottery said.
The winner advocated for the vaccine within her family as well.
"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 winner, a mom of three, plans to use the money 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."
Drawings will be held once a week over the next nine weeks for $50,000 prizes. On the 12th and final week, the lottery ends with a drawing for a $1 million grand prize.
Everyone age 18 and older who has received all their vaccine doses and a booster shot in Maryland is eligible for the drawings.
As with previous lotteries to incentivize vaccinations, lottery officials are using a random number generator to select a winner. The lottery will end with a $1 million drawing on the 12th and final week. In total, 12 Marylanders will receive part of the big payout.
Last May, the state awarded $40,000 prizes over the course of 40 days, culminating in a $400,000 grand prize drawing on the Fourth of July, to incentive vaccinations.
In July, the state awarded $50,000 college scholarships to 20 Marylanders between the ages of 12 and 17 who got vaccinated.