Another group of vaccinated Coloradans are ending this week with hefty purses after they became the latest winners in Gov. Jared Polis’s vaccine incentive campaign.
The winners include five teenagers, all of whom will win $50,000 scholarships, and Pete Vegas, a Boulder businessman and the third Coloradan to win $1 million. All six winners appeared either in person or virtually Friday with Polis. Fifteen more teens will win scholarships over the next three weeks, along with two more adult winners of the million-dollar sweepstakes.
The teen winners are Sabine Manske, 17, of Littleton; Hannah Blackman, 17, of Golden; Levi T., 13, of Boulder; Brady Roland, 16, of Arvada; and Zen Ottensen, 17, of Parker. Their winnings will be set in a savings account to accrue interest before they move on to further their schooling.
Hannah, who Polis said was honored with a resiliency award for helping others overcome pandemic-related mental health issues, said her dream was to attend the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She thanked Polis and praised health care and front-line workers.
“With my big, big hopes of college in New York City, this scholarship will make that next step possible for me and will really make my dreams come true,” she said.
Levi, who at 13 is the youngest winner of any of the vaccine prizes, had a “healthy dose of skepticism when he was notified that he won this award,” Polis said, and even feared that it was “part of a kidnapping plot.” Levi said it meant a lot for him to get vaccinated and to see the end of the pandemic — at least as society’s known it — rapidly arriving.
“My parents are very grateful because now they have a way to pay for my college,” he said.
Brady said she was “super nervous” about getting poked with a needle but that she knew she’d get vaccinated as soon as she could. The pros of vaccines, she said, outweighed the “cons of not getting the vaccine at all.” Zen, who was in Utah touring colleges, said he was looking forward to walking around campus without a mask.
Pete, the million-dollar winner, used his brief moment in front of the cameras to advocate for restorative agriculture. He and his wife were both vaccinated the first day they were eligible, he told reporters Friday. Though he said he’d spend some of the money on his mortgage, maybe some mountain bikes or a vacation, “most is going to go toward an area I’m very passionate about” and which is very expensive.
“I’m very concerned about climate change and the effect the human race has had on the environment,” he said. “An area I feel I can contribute — major changes in agricultural practices are desperately needed to improve soil health and bring carbon back out of the atmosphere into the ground, where it originated and belongs.”
It’s expensive, he said, to convert to “regenerative ag.” His plan is “to fund experimental plots where people can learn to grow these crops regeneratively and subsidize the farmers that are putting effort into this.”
Friday’s winners marked the midpoint of the state’s monetary incentive program, but there’s yet to be an increase in first-dose vaccinations. A Gazette analysis indicated that first-dose uptake statewide has dropped to its lowest levels yet. A recent bump in overall inoculations was accounted for by second doses, which corresponded to a first-dose bump in mid-May.
Polis, who initially pointed to vaccinate rate improvements in other states with similar programs, has tempered his tone. He told reporters Friday that it would be increasingly difficult for numbers to stay high as the crowd that remains unvaccinated but is open to it shrinks over time. He said the state was “hoping to make progress” with Coloradans between the ages of 12 and 17.
“We are approaching, and we are optimistic that we will achieve, President Biden’s goal of 70% of people age 18 and up (vaccinated) by July 1 with at least their first dose,” he said.
He pointed to Mesa County as evidence of the efficacy and importance of vaccinations. Mesa, which has fewer than 50% of its eligible population vaccinated, has seen a COVID-19 spike that’s driven hospitalizations up and hospital capacity to the brink. As of Thursday, just over 5% of the county’s hospital beds remained unused.
At the same time that Mesa County experiences its worst spike since the fall, major population centers such as Denver and the metro area continue to see plummeting case rates. Many metro areas have at least 60% of their eligible residents vaccinated, and Denver, among a handful of others, have surpassed 70%.
The 12-to-17 age block that Polis hopes to make inroads with is by far the least-vaccinated group in the state. As of earlier this week, roughly a third of residents between the ages of 10 and 19 had been vaccinated, compared to roughly half of people in their 20s.
More than 3.15 million residents have received at least one dose as of Friday morning, along with 2.81 million who’re fully inoculated.
Polis will announce a fourth $1 million winner and the next batch of scholarship recipients late next week. The last adult winner will be selected July 7, and the final scholarships will be announced July 9.
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