NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Adolescents in New York who get vaccinated in the coming weeks can enter a raffle with the chance to win a four-year scholarship to any public college in the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.
Cuomo said it’s part of a “Get a Shot to Make Your Future” initiative to encourage kids between the ages of 12 and 17 years old to get vaccinated. He said people in that age group are helping drive COVID positivity in the state and that they’re the least vaccinated among age groups.
As part of the incentive, the state will award 50 full tuition, room and board scholarships to any public college or university in the state for four years.
“It is an incentive for students,” Cuomo said at his daily briefing. “This is a full, four-year scholarship to a SUNY school, to a CUNY school, to a community college.”
The scholarships will be raffled off on a weekly basis for kids who get their first Pfizer dose from this Thursday to July 7, Cuomo said.
Use of the Pfizer vaccine, which requires two doses, was expanded to kids 12 to 15 under an emergency use authorization by the FDA.
The state will award 10 four-year scholarships in a random drawing every Wednesday, the governor said.
“People who receive the vaccine earlier have a greater chance to win, because they are eligible for every drawing, every week,” Cuomo said. “It’s not just those people who get it that week. Once you get the vaccine, you go into the pool. But if you get the vaccine earlier, you’ll have more chances to win, because you’ll be in the first week pool, the second week pool, the third week pool, the fourth week pool, etcetera.”
Applicants can enter the raffle by going to ny.gov/vaccinescholarship.
Related
