Nearly 650,000 people have registered for Quebec's "vaccination lottery"

People in Quebec are getting behind the province’s COVID-19 vaccination lottery.

Nearly 650,000 people, in fact.

According to the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, 644,029 people have registered for the contest, which could net them up to $2 million.

In a phone call with Daily Hive, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry said that the site is “up and running” after two days of “technical difficulties” once the contest launched.

Registration was supposed to start on Sunday, but the site experienced difficulties, leaving many Quebecers unable to register for a spot. On Monday, roughly 375,000 people signed up for the contest, says the spokesperson for the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

See also:
- Here’s how to partake in Quebec’s $2 million lottery for vaccinated citizens
- Canada now has enough COVID-19 vaccines to fully vaccinate every eligible person

The spokesperson says Loto-Québec and Clic Santé have received almost 20 times as much traffic as usual.

MÀJ Pas moins de 644 029 personnes se sont inscrites au Concours «Gagner à être vacciné» de dimanche à mardi, 8h. Source: @sante_qc #POLQC #ASSNAT pic.twitter.com/kuKZ01J70e

— Marco Bélair-Cirino (@MBelairCirino) July 27, 2021

The Quebec government’s goal is to get 75% of its eligible population vaccinated by the end of August and is using the vaccine lottery as an initiative to drive up the rollout.

Any Quebecer who has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can register for the contest, regardless of their vaccination dates.

Starting on August 6, weekly Friday draws will be held in two categories. Citizens aged 18 and older could win up to $1 million in cash. Bursaries of up to $20,000 will be awarded to the 12 to 17 vaccinated age group.

To be eligible for the vaccination lottery, participants must meet the following criteria:

received the vaccine in Quebec
had a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and received a dose of the vaccine
received a vaccine recognized by Health Canada outside Quebec

Participants need to only register once. Once entered, they will be eligible for all the draws within their age group.

As of Tuesday morning (July 27), 10,768,440 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across Quebec.