Lottery winners had personal experiences with coronavirus
Jun. 3—COLUMBUS — Ohio's dangling of a potential $1 million lottery prize before his eyes may have put South Toledo's Jonathan Carlyle over the edge in terms of getting vaccinated, but the coronavirus illnesses of his sister and brother-in-law and the death of his brother-in-law's father in California had already pointed him in that direction.
"She was on me a lot to go and get vaccinated, and that played a very significant role in getting it," said the 40-year Amazon delivery driver and father of a 5-month-old son on Thursday.
The second full-ride college scholarship winner, Zoie Vincent, 17, of Mayfield Village near Cleveland, personally suffered from a bout of the virus.
"I feel honestly it was the most sick that I've ever been," she said during a media conference with Mr. Carlyle and Gov. Mike DeWine.
"I obviously came out of it, and I do think that played a significant role in my decision to get vaccination," she said. "If I can guarantee that I will never feel this way again (and) my family won't have to feel this way again, I felt like I would definitely take it."
Mr. Carlyle took advantage of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine while Ms. Vincent is awaiting her second of a two-dose vaccine.
In addition to Mr. Carlyle's new son, he helps to care for his girlfriend's two children, so he sees the lottery prize — after state and federal taxes — as a chance to establish a strong financial footing for his family.
"I did not sleep very much last night," he said. "I was dreaming a lot about the future. I know that me and my family want to find our permanent home hopefully sometime in the near future, and beyond that I just want to have somebody help me make this last. This is a good foundation for my family."
The state will calculate the cost of four years of tuition, room and board, and books at the most expensive public college or university in Ohio—Miami University in Oxford. The Department of Higher Education estimated that at $16,224 a year for in-state tuition plus $14,510 in room and board.
It will set that aside in a tax-free account for Ms. Vincent, who is about to enter her senior year of high school. While based on the cost of a public school education, the money could be used to attend a private school or an institution outside Ohio.
Ms. Vincent was interested in a career in medicine even before the pandemic and said it will be a relief to know that at least a large chunk of what will ultimately be a big bill for her future education is already taken care of. Among the schools she is looking at are Case-Western Reserve University and Ohio State University.
As of Thursday, 45.7 percent of Ohioans had rolled up their sleeves at least once. There were 15,654 who were newly vaccinated, which trailed the 17,100 who followed through with their scheduled second shots. So far, 40.2 percent of Ohioans have completed the vaccination cycle.
Locally, 44.9 percent have gotten at least one shot in Lucas County compared to 50.6 percent in Wood County.
After a two-week bump in new vaccinations believed to be tied to the lottery announcement, the numbers have dropped in recent days.
"We've succeeded and gotten a lot of people vaccinated quicker than they would have," Mr. DeWine said. "Many people who have been vaccinated maybe weren't going to get it at all...Our first concern candidly was to stop the bleeding, and by that I mean stop it from going down...Trying to right that ship in and of itself, I think, was an accomplishment."
The third drawings will take place on Monday, but the results won't be announced until the Ohio Lottery's regular broadcast at 7:29 p.m. on Wednesday. The drawings will then continue two more weeks beyond.
The state is using federal coronavirus relief dollars to pay for the $5 million in lottery winnings — before taxes — in addition to the five college scholarships.
Before fast-tracking the end of face-mask, mass gathering, and most of his other orders, all of which ended as of Wednesday, the governor had set a goal of doing so once the number of new infections in Ohio dropped below 50 per 100,000 people.
As of Wednesday, that number had dropped to 58.3 percent.
Ohio reported 490 new coronavirus cases Thursday, well below the 21-day average of 716.
The state has reached a total of 1,103,380 cases and 19,923 deaths, according to the Ohio Health Department. New deaths were not updated Thursday.
First Published June 3, 2021, 11:47am
