Maryland News

Maryland Vaccine Lottery: A List Of The Vax Cash Winners Around The State

July 4, 2021 / 11:00 AM EDT / CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The latest Vax Cash winner is from Baltimore, Maryland.

That person won the grand prize of $400,000.

The grand prize $400,000 VaxCash Winner is from Baltimore City, MD!
Learn more about the promotion here: https://t.co/4yCqtOxkYs #VAXtoWin pic.twitter.com/nwQsLJScxv
— Maryland Lottery (@MDLottery) July 4, 2021

Here's a list of the daily winners:

May 25: Baltimore County
May 26: Baltimore City
May 27: Deidre Poore Eagan, Towson (Baltimore County)
May 28: Gerard Dupree, Glen Burnie (Anne Arundel County)
May 29: North Potomac (Montgomery County)
May 30: Upper Marlboro (Prince George's County)
May 31: Carroll County
June 1: Marnobia Alegria Juarez, Silver Spring
June 2: Cecil County
June 3: Clarksburg (Montgomery County)
June 4: Elkridge (Howard County)
June 5: Bryan Schlein, Towson (Baltimore County)
June 6: Tabatha Duckett, Indian Head (Charles County)
June 7: Montgomery County
June 8: Essex (Baltimore County)
June 9: Prince George's County
June 10: Clinton (Prince George's County)
June 11: Potomac (Montgomery County)
June 12: Annapolis (Anne Arundel County)
June 13: Harford County
June 14: Prince George's County
June 15: Bethesda (Montgomery County)
June 16: Cecil County
June 17: Charles County
June 18: Annapolis (Anne Arundel County)
June 19: Frederick (Frederick County)
June 20: Prince George's County
June 21: Bel Air (Harford County)
June 22: Gaithersburg (Montgomery County)
June 23: Bowie (Prince George's County)
June 24: Calvert County
June 25: Prince George's County
June 26: Baltimore City
June 27: Anne Arundel County
June 28: Baltimore City
June 29: Cecil County
June 30: Parkville, Md. (Baltimore County)
July 1: Prince George's County
July 2: Caroline County
July 3: Gaithersburg (Montgomery County)
July 4: Baltimore City ($400K Grand Prize Winner)

Winners can remain anonymous!

"We do not know who the actual winner is, and we will not know until the Maryland Department of Health gets in touch with them and gets their consent," said Carole Gentry, the Maryland Lottery's Managing Director of Communications.

Gentry answered some of WJZ's questions about the drawings, which are an incentive to get people vaccinated. As of Wednesday, about 56 percent of Marylanders have received one shot. State officials are looking closely at the numbers to see if the lottery increases demand. In Ohio, demand is up 28 percent since that state's lottery announcement.

So who is eligible and are you automatically entered? Gentry says anyone aged 18 and older who lives in Maryland and was vaccinated in the state. "The only exclusion is if you were vaccinated at a federal facility in the state of Maryland because the federal government is not sharing that information with the Maryland Department of Health," Gentry told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.

She said if you have not gotten the shot, you should do so as quickly as possible to increase your odds.

"There's 39 more days of 40 thousand dollar prizes and that grand prize. If I have not been vaccinated, I want to go out and get it right now because I want to be in that pool for all of those drawings coming up," said Gentry. "I want a better chance of winning."

What happens if you win? "The Maryland Department of Health will contact you via phone and email and ask if you consent to release information," Gentry said. "If they don't want it, if we can't reach them after making great effort, we can go to an alternate." She said you cannot win twice.

When do they announce the daily winners? Gentry said by 11 a.m. they will post at least the location of the winner publicly.

How do they protect privacy? The state attaches a number to everyone's name.

Several states have similar vaccine lotteries. Maryland got tips from them.

"The Kentucky lottery shared information with us, the Ohio lottery. Now, there are lots and lots of other lotteries who are reaching out to us because they want to know how to make this work," Gentry said.

The buzzy promotion is getting some mixed reaction. "To me, it's a total waste of taxpayer money," Norm Albert told WJZ. But Henry Starks Jr. called it "a great idea" and said he hopes more people will get the shot. "It's better for your health and better for everyone."

The prize money—totaling $2 million—is coming from the lottery's marketing fund.

Maryland's grand prize $400,000 drawing is July 4th.

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.