Today, at a news conference, Governor Kate Brown announced the winner of the Take Your Shot Oregon $1 million incentive prize. She was joined by Oregon Lottery Director Barry Pack and Patrick Allen, Director of the Oregon Health Authority.
Director Pack said, “At Lottery, we do numbers, and we used our random number generator and validation process to ensure an accurate random draw where every eligible Oregonian had a fair chance to win.”
The winner was Chloe Zinda from McMinnville, a student at Oregon State University, studying fine arts, and a part-time swim instructor. Chloe’s reason for getting the vaccine was to protect her students from getting COVID-19. Chloe plans to use the money to pay off her student loans, start a business as a fine artist, and possibly open a studio someday.
“I’m very excited for our winner,” said Director Allen. “But I’m just as excited for our state. Thanks to our winner – and the more than 2.4 million other Oregonians who’ve received at least one dose of the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines – COVID-19 no longer holds Oregon in its grip.”
Where Oregon stands today
More than 70.3 percent of adult Oregonians have now received at least one vaccination and more than 2.2 million Oregonians are fully vaccinated and well protected against COVID-19.
Oregon ranks 18th in the nation in the percentage of our total population that’s been vaccinated with at least one dose (at 59 percent) and 12th in the nation for those who have been fully vaccinated.
According to Director Allen, “As the number of people who are vaccinated has grown – to the point where more than 7 in 10 adult Oregonians have chosen to get immunized – COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths have plummeted.”
Six weeks ago
- The seven-day rolling average of new cases was 517 cases per day.
- Hospitals in every part of the state were full of COVID-19 patients battling severe COVID illnesses.
- And Oregon recorded 57 COVID-19 deaths that week.
The picture in Oregon today
- The seven-day average for new daily cases has dropped to around 160.
- The 99 people who are currently hospitalized with severe COVID-19 cases is the lowest amount we’ve seen since September 14, 2020.
- More than 9 in 10 cases of hospitalizations and fatalities are among people who are unvaccinated.
In closing, Director Allen made clear that OHA is committed to vaccinating 80% of adults of color by the end of August – and ultimately vaccinating 80% of all Oregon adults. And he thanked Chloe Zinda and everyone else who has been vaccinated.
You can get answers to your questions and information about where you can find a vaccine near you at covidvaccine.oregon.gov.
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