Vax-a-million: controversial or brilliant?

You may have heard that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently announced that the state will take some of their COVID relief money and raffle it off to any vaccinated Ohioan who enters the drawing. The state will give out $1,000,000 every Wednesday for five weeks to an Ohioan 18 years or older. For vaccinated Ohioans 12-17 years old, the state will choose one winner who will receive a full four-year college scholarship.

Some questioned whether this was the right manner to use the COVID funding. When asked, this is how Governor DeWine responded: “I know that some may say, ‘DeWine, you’re crazy! This million-dollar drawing idea of yours is a waste of money’,” DeWine said in his statewide address Wednesday. “But truly, the real waste at this point in the pandemic -- when the vaccine is readily available to anyone who want it -- is a life lost to COVID-19.”

At this point, only time will tell what the outcome is.