RALEIGH, N.C. — A Winston-Salem mother of three was the first winner of North Carolina's $1 million COVID-19 vaccine lottery.
Gov. Roy Cooper announced that Shelly Wyramon, a mother of three with more than 20 years of teaching experience, was the winner. Cooper said Wyramon couldn't believe she won until she was on a video call with Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
"I was overwhelmed, not believing it. I still don't believe it," Wyramon said. "Who believes you're going to win $1 million? It's absolutely unbelievable, my family's still in shock."
Wyramon said she decided to get the vaccine as a way to do her small part to stop the spread of COVID-19 and return to normalcy.
"I wanted to be able to get back to spending precious time with those that I love and those children that I love to teach," Wyramon said.
Cohen announced that 14-year-old Vania Martinez was the state's first Cash 4 College winner. Martinez said she chose to get vaccinated after seeing the loss of people who were close to her.
"I did my research on it, and I decided to get the vaccine cause it was safe for me," Martinez said. "It was safe for my family."
The drawings are part of the state's Bringing Summer Back campaign aimed at encouraging North Carolinians to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Every North Carolinian who gets the COVID-19 vaccine is eligible for the next three drawings, and any person who gets their shot after the lottery was announced will be entered twice.
NCDHHS said the winners for the $4 Million Summer Cash and Summer Cash 4 College Drawings will be drawn every other Wednesday through Aug. 4. The first drawing took place on June 23. As of June 25, 52% of adults in North Carolina are fully vaccinated.
North Carolinians 18 and older who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the state are automatically entered into drawings for a $1 million cash prize.
Youth between ages 12 and 17 who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the state will be automatically entered to win $125,000 towards college tuition.
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