11 Winners Drawn For WA's Military Vaccine Lottery

LAKEWOOD, WA — 11 numbers have been chosen in the first drawing of the “A Heroes Thanks” vaccine incentive lottery.

“A Heroes Thanks” is the state's second vaccine lottery program after the "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery, which wrapped up last week. "A Heroes Thanks" was announced by Gov. Jay Inslee back in June as a way to thank military members for taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

"The vaccine saves lives, and we need you here," said Director of Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Alfie Alvarado at a conference announcing the lottery. "We urge all our veterans, service members, and their families to take the shots."

Many military members had been ineligible for the "Shot of a Lifetime" drawing because the Department of Defense does not share its vaccination data with the Washington State Immunization Information System, the pool from which "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery winners were drawn. "A Heroes Thanks" was created to make sure the military's efforts did not go unrecognized.

"Not every state is honoring our heroes as we are, and I'm glad we're able to do this," said Gov. Jay Inslee.

The grand prize winner of this week's drawing will receive an award of $100,000. Another $100,000 drawing will be held next week, followed by a third and final drawing offering a $250,000 grand prize. Other winners will receive Amazon and state park gift cards.

The winner's of Tuesday's drawing may take some time to notify, as contacting winners can require input from the Department of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, National Guard and Department of Defense. The lottery says it expects to announce the winner by next Monday.

A total of 86,598 people were entered in the “A Heroes Thanks” pool. Of those 69,441 were vaccinated at a VA facility, 4,475 from a National Guard facility, and 12,682 got their shot from the Department of Defense.

Anyone who is vaccinated at a VA or National Guard facility is automatically entered in the drawing, but those who get doses at DOD facilities have to opt in to be entered for a chance to win due to the military's data restrictions.

The next drawing will be Tuesday, July 27. To be eligible for that drawing, all contestants have to do is receive a vaccine at a DOD health care facility sometime before 6:59 a.m. on July 26 to opt-in.

And if you win a prize, make sure to claim it: as many as 170 prizes from the "Shot of A Lifetime" vaccine went unclaimed, and ultimately had to be returned to donors.

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