'Hundreds of thousands' of Ohioans enter Vax-a-Million lottery on first day of opt-in eligibility opening, according to ODH

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Editor's note: The video in the player above is from a previously published story.

In less than 24 hours, the Ohio Vax-a-Million saw 'hundreds of thousands' of entries and more than 25 million page views on the official opt-in website, according to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). 

Officials say that by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the ODH had received more than 60,000 calls from Ohioans looking to enter the special lottery for vaccinated individuals. 

RELATED: ENTER NOW | Ohio's COVID vaccine lottery registration opens: How to enter the $1 million Vax-a-Million drawings

“This is a unique, innovative way to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations, and we are pleased to see so much activity today,” said Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud. “In addition, we are seeing early indicators of increased uptake after the Vax-a-Million announcement last week, and will continue to monitor this moving forward.”

ODH will not be releasing the official number of entries until the Monday after the draw-period. Health officials are also using this time to verify and de-duplicate any possible entries into the drawing. 

“We are thrilled to see so much excitement for the Ohio Vax-a-Million drawings,” said Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald. “The odds of winning are the same whether you visit ohiovaxamillion.com or call the ODH call center. It is quick and easy to register online for your chance to win Ohio Vax-a-Million. Remember, it’s one entry per person and once you’ve entered you’re in for all five weeks!”

RELATED: Ohio's COVID vaccine lottery registration opens: How Vax-a-Million drawings will work

Not sure how to enter the $1 million lottery? There are two ways:

• Enter online by visiting www.OhioVaxAMillion.com.
• Call the Ohio Department of Health call center at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634). The call center is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you are having a hard time accessing ohiovaxamillion.com, ODH has tips to help you navigate to the site:

• Refresh your page
• Clear your cache in your browsing history
• Update your web browser 

The first drawing for both the $1 million prize and the full-ride scholarship for Ohioans aged 12-17 will be conducted on May 26 at 7:29 p.m.

Editor's note: The video in the player above is from a story published on May 17, 2021.