Show me the money! Now it’s a shot lottery…or a shottery

First, it was whiskey and beer, now it’s a shot for a shot at…

That’s right, Gov. J.B. Pritzker now wants to enter everyone who who has received a COVID vaccine into a lottery with a purse of $10 million and the top prize gets…

So let’s call this shot lottery a shottery. Sounds great.

What’s the next prize for getting vaccinated? A big screen TV or…

Anyone who gets at least one vaccine dose in Illinois is eligible to win as there is “no sign-up, no forms, no waiting in line” and that anyone who gets their first dose before July 1 will be eligible for the first drawing on July 8 and every drawing thereafter. 

Pritzker said in the funding for the lottery was allocated through state budget appropriations. 

As of last week, Illinois has administered more than 12 million doses of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. A total of 5,456,492 Illinois residents above the age of 12 are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. That equates to roughly 50 percent of the state’s population over 12. 

A total of 7,247,381 Illinois residents over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. That figure is about 67 percent of the 12+ population. 

There are approximately 3 million Illinois residents who are eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 but haven’t yet done so, according to state officials.

Pritzker said his goal is to get at least 80 percent of eligible residents vaccinated and this is the latest incentive along with the booze, tickets Six Flags Great America and free trap shooting (not in Chicago, they have too many shootings already).

So let’s get ready for July 8 and…