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Kids as young as 5-years-old will be eligible for Ohio's vaccine lottery

By Andy Chow

Published October 1, 2021 at 6:17 PM EDT

[Logan Wallace / Ohio State University] — A syringe and vial of COVID-19 vaccine

Ohio is launching another COVID-19 vaccine incentive program. Scholarships will be given to winners of a sweepstakes if they get the shot, but there’s a catch in this new lottery plan.

The scholarship giveaway will include people 5 to 25 years old, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t yet approved any coronavirus vaccines for kids 5 to 11.

That means the "Vax-2-School" lottery will be postponed in hopes that FDA approval happens by the end of the year.

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Ohio Department of Health director, said in a Friday morning press conference, he is hearing promising news regarding clinical trials and submission of data from Pfizer.

"That top line data showed the vaccine safe and generated robust antibody responses in that 5 to 11 age bracket," Vanderhoff said.

The trial dosage for those in the 5 to 11 group was 10 milligrams compared to 30 milligrams for ages 12 and over, he said.

Pfizer's formal emergency use authorization application should be submitted in the next few weeks, with potential FDA approval several weeks after the submission, according to Vanderhoff.

"We anticipate that we'll draw our winners no later than the end of the calendar year," Vanderhoff said. "Vax-2-School" will give out 150 scholarships of $10,000 and five scholarships of $100,000, with a total of $2 million in prizes.

Vanderhoff says expanding the sweepstakes is a sign of how much the state is looking forward to having this age group eligible to be vaccinated.

"Because they go to school, being in the public space in large numbers so we've been very eager to have the opportunity to protect these 5 to 11-year-olds," Vanderhoff said.

Meanwhile, Vanderhoff added, it's possible the delta variant has plateaued in Ohio.

"I do think in most parts of the state we are showing evidence of cresting," Vanderhoff said. "That's encouraging but certainly not a reason for us to declare victory over COVID."

People who are eligible can sign up at OhioVax2School.com beginning Oct. 4, but only if they've received at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.