A lucky Fayetteville State University freshman is receiving $1 million after receiving her COVID-19 vaccination in North Carolina! Get the full story from Jack Boden at The Fayetteville Observer below.
A freshman at Fayetteville State University is the third winner of the $1 million COVID-19 vaccine lottery, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Thursday during his COVID-19 briefing.
Audrey Chavous, 18, of Winston-Salem, was selected at random on July 21 for the third giveaway of $1 million in N.C.’s vaccine lottery. Chavous will start her freshman year at Fayetteville State University this fall.
The vaccine lottery in North Carolina awards $1 million to four individuals 18 years or older who choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Four $125,000 scholarships are being awarded to four vaccinated individuals under the age of 18 as well.
Previous winners of the $1 million lottery are Natalie Everett, of Pineville, selected July 15, and Shelly Wyramon, of Winston-Salem, selected June 23.
The final winner was selected Wednesday and will be announced once they have been contacted about their prize.
Chavous joinedgovernor during his COVID-19 briefing and discussed why she chose to get vaccinated and what she plans to do with the money.
“I chose to get vaccinated, not only for the safety of other people around me, but simply for the safety of myself,” she said.
Chavous said that the pandemic greatly affected her senior year of high school and she saw the impact it had on people in her life as well as on people around the world.
“I wanted to get vaccinated so I could be calm about going about my life and being able to get back to normal as soon as I possibly could,” she said.
She also addressed the number of people who are still unsure about getting vaccinated, saying that she understands the skepticism but the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the potential consequences and that it is essential for those who wish to return to the way life was before the pandemic.
She said she still could not believe that she had won the vaccine lottery.
“I still have no words to describe how happy I am,” Chavous said.
When Cooper announced Chavous as the winner, he mentioned that she works two jobs, and joked that maybe she won’t have to now that she has won the lottery.
Chavous said that she plans to use the money to pay for her undergraduate and master’s degrees to become a family and marriage therapist.
“I’m sure I’ll have some money left over. I plan on saving most of it, investing maybe 5 or 10% of it,” she said smiling. “And the rest of it, I don’t know, I might treat myself to a shopping spree or something.”
