COLUMBUS – The state has announced the fourth set of Ohio Vax-a-Million winners even as the number of coronavirus vaccinations continues to be stagnant.
The latest winners of the program launched by Gov. Mike DeWine last month are Suzanne Ward, of Findlay, who won the $1 million prize, and Sean Horning, of Cincinnati, who won the four-year full-ride scholarship at an Ohio public university or college..
The Ohio Lottery named the winners at the end of the lottery’s Cash Explosion TV show Wednesday.
The incentive initially resulted in a 43% increase in vaccinations, but the numbers are declining again.
The entry deadline for the final drawing on June 23 is midnight Sunday, June 20.
Weekly employment data from Ohio and the rest of the nation shows an uneven recovery from the 65-week-old recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state reported that 5,476,000 Ohioans had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, which is equal to 46.85% of the state’s total population.
There have been 1,107,902 million cases of COVID-19 statewide since the onset of the pandemic. There are currently 9,504 active cases, 361 of which are being treated in hospitals.
The number of Ohioans filing for first-time jobless benefits lats week fell by 2% while the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose or the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession.
Ohioans filed 15,866 initial traditional unemployment claims last week, which was 358 fewer than the previous week, according to data the Department of Job and Family Services supplied to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Nationwide, jobless claims rose 37,000 from the week before. As the job market has strengthened, the number of weekly applications for unemployment aid has fallen for most of the year. The weekly number of jobless claims generally reflects the pace of layoffs.
Ohioans filed 195,663 continued traditional unemployment claims last week, which was 3,029 fewer than the previous week.
The total number of claims filed during the period June 6 through June 12 was 467,041, 1% fewer than the previous week.
With vaccinations up and more consumers venturing out to spend — on restaurant meals, airline fares, movie tickets and store purchases — the economy is rapidly recovering from the recession.