King County motorcycle mechanic wins $1 million vaccine lottery prize

Gov. Jay Inslee announced the winner of the final “Shot of a Lifetime” vaccine lottery prize on Friday, presenting King County motorcycle mechanic Kameron M. with a check for $1 million.

Kameron — who noted that he hadn’t actually known about the state’s ongoing vaccine lottery prior to winning the $1 million grand prize — found out he won through his mother, due to a setting in his phone that blocks calls from unknown numbers.

Ross: Washington finally has a vaccine lottery!

“They got in contact with my mother and pushed forward to try and get a hold of me,” he described. “My mom told me about it — I thought it was a scam. She called me back and said, ‘I think it’s real.'”

“I guess we should all listen to our mother,” Gov. Inslee joked, going on to praise Kameron for “doing a public service” by getting vaccinated.

“He’s getting a $1 million check, but he’s done something for the state of Washington himself,” Inslee added.

With the “Shot of a Lifetime” contest now having come to an end, the governor said that there are no current plans for another similar contest in the near future. That said, he also lauded it for the “positive impact” it had on helping stabilize vaccination rates following a period where they had begun to decline “precipitously.”

In total, the state Department of Health estimates that between June 3 and June 22, roughly 28,500 more people received their first dose as a result of the lottery, marking a 24% increase from a scenario where the state hadn’t done the lottery at all.

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