The first drawing of Illinois' COVID vaccine lottery took place Thursday, with state officials selecting via random drawing the winners of one $1 million cash prize and three $150,000 student scholarships.
How can you enter the next vaccine lottery drawing and how can you find out if you won?
Here's a look at everything you need to know:
What is the Illinois vaccine lottery?
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month announced the "All In for the Win" lottery, which will give out $10 million in prize money to residents who get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The prizes will be in the form of $7 million in cash prizes for adults and $3 million in scholarships for youth, all distributed through weekly drawings, Pritzker said.
The Illinois Lottery will draw names each week beginning July 8. The cash prizes will range from $100,000 to $1 million, he said, while children can win a Bright Start college savings plan worth $150,000 apiece.
Who won the Illinois vaccine lottery?
The winner of the first $1 million prize is from Chicago, Illinois officials announced Thursday afternoon. Three people under the age of 18, one each from DeKalb, suburban Cook County and Chicago, won the scholarship money.
"We had four vaccine lottery winners, everybody heard that, I hope they read it in the newspaper, it's very excitingly, the lottery is going every week now," Pritzker said at un unrelated news conference Friday. "You're eligible for it if you've been vaccinated already or if you get vaccinated now, you'll be eligible for it on the next drawing."
"There's a million dollar winner, there are three $150,000 scholarship winners under 18," he said, adding, "So we're very, very pleased about the results of at least the first drawing and it'll be going for nine more weeks, so if you are not vaccinated, please go get vaccinated. And I guess I should say there are at least a million reasons to get vaccinated now."
How to find out if you won the Illinois vaccine lottery
"Illinoisans should keep their phones on and check their emails regularly to find out if they’ve won," IDPH said. State officials will call from 312-814-3524 and/or email from DPH.communications@illinois.gov to notify winners, per IDPH.
The department said no personal information will be requested in the initial phone or email notification and that winners will have seven days to complete, sign and send the authorization form to IDPH to accept their prize.
The Illinois Lottery will then "guide winners through the claims process" and the winners will be announced eight days after each drawing unless the winner chooses to remain anonymous.
How do you enter the Illinois vaccine lottery?
Anyone who gets at least one vaccine dose in Illinois is eligible to win, Pritzker said, noting there are "no sign-up, no forms, no waiting in line."
Anyone who got their first dose before July 1 was eligible for the first drawing on July 8 and every drawing thereafter.
Eligible residents are automatically entered into the lotteries, the state said, noting that the Illinois Department of Public Health will "continue to check their records before each drawing," so even if you missed the first drawing, you can still enter in later drawings automatically by getting vaccinated.
Once you're entered by getting at least one vaccine dose in Illinois, you remain eligible for all future drawings unless you win.
When are the Illinois vaccine lottery drawings?
Here's a full breakdown of the vaccine lottery schedule:
Cash Prize Draw and Announcement Schedule
| Drawing Date | Pool | Number of Winners | Prize | Winner Announcement Date* |
| Thursday, July 8, 2021 | State Wide | 1 | $1,000,000 | Friday, July 16, 2021 |
| Monday, July 12, 2021 | State Wide | 3 | $100,000 | Tuesday, July 20, 2021 |
| Monday, July 19, 2021 | State Wide | 3 | $100,000 | Tuesday, July 27, 2021 |
| Monday, July 26, 2021 | State Wide | 3 | $100,000 | Tuesday, August 3, 2021 |
| Monday, August 2, 2021 | State Wide | 3 | $100,000 | Tuesday, August 10, 2021 |
| Monday, August 9, 2021 | State Wide | 3 | $100,000 | Tuesday, August 17, 2021 |
| Thursday, August 12, 2021 | Restore Illinois Regions | 22 | $100,000 | Friday, August 20, 2021 |
| Monday, August 16, 2021 | State Wide | 3 | $100,000 | Tuesday, August 24, 2021 |
| Thursday, August 26, 2021 | State Wide | 2 | $1,000,000 | Friday, September 3, 2021 |
Scholarship Prizes Draw and Announcement Schedule
| Drawing Date | Pool | Number of Winners | Prize | Winner Announcement Date* |
| Thursday, July 8, 2021 | State Wide | 3 | $150,000 | Friday, July 16, 2021 |
| Thursday, August 26, 2021 | State Wide + Restore Illinois Regions | 17 | $150,000 | Friday, September 3, 2021 |
State officials say announcements of winners will only include their names if they give permission to share their information.
Drawings will take place in the afternoon, IDPH said, and the counties or cities of the winners will be announced immediately afterwards.
Why did Illinois create a COVID vaccine lottery?
"You did your part already, and this is a way of saying thank you," Pritzker said when announcing the lottery. "It's also our way of saying to those who haven't yet been vaccinated: please join us. Vaccines are incredibly effective. And they keep you protected, but they also make your community safer."
Pritzker has said that his goal is to get 80 to 85% of eligible residents vaccinated through a variety of incentives, which have so far included things like Six Flags Great America tickets and free trap shooting range plays in the state.
The Illinois plan is similar to ones announced in other states so far. Vaccine-incentive lotteries have already launched in Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, New York state and Oregon.
