Northern Valley youth wins scholarship in final vaccine sweepstakes drawing

After Leslie Bush’s son, Mekhi, experienced an anaphylactic reaction to a routine childhood vaccine, she was hesitant to vaccinate her son against COVID-19.  After consulting with a physician, she made her choice.  Mekhi received his shot, and thankfully, had no adverse reactions.

Adding to his mom’s relief, Mekhi was randomly selected as one of the final winners of the Alaska Chamber’s Give AK a Shot sweepstakes, winning a $49,000 Alaska 529 scholarship.  As an added perk, Leslie Bush also received $10,000 for being vaccinated.

The Bushes, who live near Talkeetna, are not the only winners in the Give AK a Shot sweepstakes.  The program has given away $962,000 to 26 Alaskans in 10 different communities since it began in September.

113,802 Alaskans entered the sweepstakes, including over 9,000 children over the age of 12.  The winners were selected randomly by an independent auditor after checking for eligibility through Alaska’s Immunization Information System (VacTrAK)

The campaign was hosted by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce.  “The objective of this sweepstakes was to motivate more Alaskans to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” said Katie Capozzi, president of the Alaska Chamber. 

The sweepstakes was funded through a grant from the Department of Health and Social Services using CARES Act dollars.

The AK Chamber expressed their support of Alaskans choosing to vaccinate, saying that a healthy economy requires healthy workers. And while they feel the program is a success, they don’t plan on hosting another sweepstakes.

The Chamber statement said, “We are proud of the results and look forward to getting back to the mission of the Chamber, advocating for the businesses of Alaska.”