Fifth And Final Massachusetts VaxMillions Winners Revealed

ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS — Gov. Charlie Baker held a press conference Thursday to announce the fifth and final winners of the Massachusetts COVID-19 vaccination lottery called VaxMillions.

The winner of the final $1 million prize is Cynthia Thirath, of Leominster. A spokesperson from Massachusetts State Lottery says she plans to use her winnings to invest in her future.

The final winner of the $300,000 college scholarship is Gretchen Selva, of Conway. Selva will enter Four River Charter Public School in Greenfield this fall as a sophomore. She says she plans to attend a college focusing on music production and writing and has already started looking into New England area schools.

Massachusetts created the lottery in an effort to encourage more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Over 2.5 million people registered for the lottery and over 440,000 residents have become fully vaccinated during the time the VaxMillions program was running, Baker said.

"Massachusetts leads the nation in vaccination rates thanks to our residents stepping up and getting vaccinated," said Baker. "We are grateful to our partners at the Treasury and the Massachusetts State Lottery in helping to launch this program."

The winners of the first drawing were Darrell Washinton, 63, of Weymouth, and Daniela Maldonado, 15, of Chelsea.

The second batch of winners were Donna McNulty, of Billerica, and Dylan Barron, of Norwood.

The third round of winners were Leo Costinos, of Attleboro, and Lilla Eliet, of Reading.

Winners of the fourth round were Lilly Guttenplan, of Lowell, and Nadia Dutton, of Rockland.

In one round, Massachusetts State Lottery officials said one person missed their chance to win a prize by failing to respond before the deadline in the sweepstakes.

According to official rules, winners had 24 hours to respond when the Department of Public Health reaches out, and if the winner did not respond, they would forfeit the prize and a new winner would be chosen.

Though the VaxMillions Giveaway is over, you can still register for the vaccine here.