Almost 80,000 sign up for Maine's nearly $1 million vaccine sweepstakes on first day

Jun. 17—Less than 24 hours after Gov. Janet Mills announced a sweepstakes to boost vaccination rates in Maine, nearly 80,000 people have signed up for a chance to win a prize that could reach nearly $1 million.

"Stat of the morning: 77,650 Mainers have registered for the Vaccinationland Sweepstakes as of 9:30 a.m. (Thursday)," said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in a tweet. "Have you registered yet? Someone is going to win this — why not you?"

Meanwhile, Maine reported 34 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and one additional death.

The seven day average of daily new cases has fallen to 42, down from 66.7 a week ago and 239.3 a month ago. At the pandemic's peak in mid-January, Maine was routinely topping 600 cases per day. Since the pandemic began, Maine has recorded 68,717 cases of COVID-19 and 854 deaths.

Vaccinations are tamping down cases, although Mainers are being inoculated at a slower pace. Through Thursday, 758,813 people had received their final dose of a vaccine, representing 56.4 percent of the state's 1.3 million population.

Maine on Wednesday launched the "Don't Miss Your Shot: Vaccinationland Sweepstakes" program that will award one lucky vaccinated winner nearly $1 million.

"We're hoping we can use programs of this nature to spur demand," Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a media briefing on Wednesday. "It's as simple as that. We're not constrained by the supply of vaccine any longer. There's vaccine out there. If this is what it takes to nudge folks to get them to come in, all the better."

Residents 12 and older who have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Maine since Dec. 15, 2020, may enter for a chance to win. Registration and an email address are required and the deadline to get vaccinated and submit an entry is 11:59 p.m. on June 30.

Entries are being accepted online at www.maine.gov/covid19/vaccines or by calling the Community Vaccination Line at 888-445-4111. Gov. Janet Mills will announce the winner and the prize amount on the afternoon of July 4.

The sweepstakes strategy comes after Maine offered much smaller incentives to try to encourage people to get vaccinated, such as free $20 L.L. Bean gift cards, free fishing and hunting licenses, tickets to Sea Dogs games and other incentives. That program ended on May 31.

Also on Thursday, Maine reported that 31 people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, with 15 in intensive care.

This story will be updated.