GREENSBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Vaccine Lottery is for real, so are the winners.
Shelly from Winston-Salem won the One Million dollars. She's a wife, a mom of three, a former public school teacher, and now, a millionaire.
So, what's next?
“It's not life-changing in that we're going to buy all these things or change our lifestyle, but it's the small things,” said Shelly.
Shelly got her vaccine before there was a lottery. So, her name was only entered once in the drawing. If you got vaccinated after the lottery was announced, your name will be entered twice.
After Shelly was announced as the winner, I got texts and emails from friends and viewers wondering how they can check the portal to make sure their vaccine info was in a place the lottery could find them.
HOW WILL WINNERS BE CONTACTED?
Winners will be called by a representative from the NCDHHS. Winners may also be emailed. They will have 48 hours to accept their prize. Only people who provided a phone number or email will be eligible to be selected as a winner.
So, how do you know whether NCDHHS has your information to contact you?
When you got vaccinated, you probably gave your vaccine provider your phone number and/or email address.
If you provided an email address, you should have gotten an email inviting you to register on the COVID-19 Vaccine Portal. The email will come from nccvms@dhhs.nc.gov.
The email subject will be: Welcome to the North Carolina COVID-19 Vaccine Portal
The email contains a link to set up your password. Your COVID-19 Vaccine Portal USERNAME is listed in the email.
If you didn't get this email, you may need to update your contact information through your vaccine provider or the vaccine portal help desk.
You can also try to request your password and username through the vaccine portal.
Click here to submit a support ticket if you still need help. Click here to see the Vaccine Portal Help Desk.
People who got their vaccine at a pharmacy will not show up on the NC Covid-19 Vaccine Portal because pharmacies work through the federal program. But the state says you WILL still be entered in the lottery. The best way to confirm your information is by calling the pharmacy to make sure they have the correct e-mail and phone number.
WHEN ARE THE DRAWINGS?
- Wednesday, June 23, 2021
- Wednesday, July 7, 2021
- Wednesday, July 21, 2021
- Wednesday, August 4, 2021