Ohio's Million-Dollar COVID Vaccine Lottery Is 'Gross Misuse' of Taxpayer Money, State Rep. Says

Ohioans who get vaccinated against COVID-19 will be entered for a chance to win $1 million, a new program that state Representative Jena Powell has called a waste of taxpayer money.

"You know, the Vax-a-Million lottery is a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars," Powell told CNN on Monday morning. "People on both sides of the aisle in the state agree with that."

Powell also described the lottery as a "bribe" to Ohioans, who she said don't want "gimmicky programs."

The lottery program was unveiled by Governor Mike DeWine earlier this month. The state is giving out five $1 million prizes and full-ride scholarships to public universities to those who get inoculated against the virus.

DeWine said the payouts will be funded by existing federal coronavirus relief funds—a move he's defended as legal, as well as necessary to slow the spread of coronavirus.

"We've had our lawyers look at this, and the federal government supplied this money so we could fight COVID," DeWine told Fox News on May 13. "That's all we're doing with this. We're trying to get more people vaccinated, we think we will get more people vaccinated. That is fighting COVID. It is the best weapon we have today to stay on offense, and that is the vaccine."

The state health department said the initiative appears to be motivating more people to get vaccinated, with vaccinations spiking 28 percent since its rollout. More than 1 million adults have entered the lottery, and tens of thousands of children ages 12 to 17 have entered to win the college scholarships, the department announced this past Friday.

But the lottery system has raised eyebrows among several state lawmakers, specifically its use of federal funding. State Representative Emilia Sykes, the top Democrat in Ohio's House of Representatives, said residents "deserve better" and argued there are more effective ways to use the money to fight COVID-19.

Powell, a Republican member of the House, is drafting legislation with an emergency clause to stop DeWine from running the vaccine lottery. The bill would also redirect the federal aid used for the program toward children's mental health initiatives or to small-business relief grants.

"You know, we do want to get to herd immunity, and that's incredible. But the bottom line is my bill, and my pushback is it's a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars to fund a Vax-a-Million lottery," Powell told CNN Monday.

She added, "The pushback is, it's a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars in our state that could be used for things like the COVID relief fund or small-business funding or mental health for children. There's been a lot of issues with children in our state when it comes to shutdowns and closure. So we feel that that $5 million could be used more wisely in our state."

Dan Tierney, the governor's press secretary, responded to Powell's remarks by saying there is no "single more powerful tool" in fighting the pandemic than the vaccine.

"The vaccine is remarkably effective," Tierney told Newsweek. "It keeps people out of the hospital, it protects them from dying, and it's been remarkably effective at preventing the spread of the virus.

"The people in Ohio and across the country getting vaccinated have allowed us to remove health restrictions and operate more freely without spread of the virus," he continued. "So for anybody who's concerned about what we can do to help businesses, to help schools operate in a more normal fashion, the best thing we can do is ensure that more of our citizens are vaccinated."

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