How are Coloradans ‘automatically entered’ into vaccine lottery?
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis, along with partnerships with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Colorado Lottery, unveiled the Colorado Comeback Cash Promotion.
The promotion is a chance to win one of five $1,000,000 cash prizes. According to Gov. Jared Polis during a Press conference on Tuesday, "anybody who got the vaccine in Colorado or who gets the vaccine will be an automatic participant" in a vaccine lottery.
Several states, including Ohio, conducted similar sweepstakes in hopes of encouraging people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. In Ohio's vaccine lottery giveaway, vaccine recipients are required to register online to participate in the grand prize drawing.
13 Investigates asked Colorado health officials and the governor's office how the state obtained vaccine recipients' permission to automatically make them a participant in the Colorado Comeback Cash Promotion.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 'all vaccine providers must report all administered vaccines into the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS), a lifelong immunization record tracking system created by the Colorado Immunization Registry Act of 2007.'
In a press conference, Gov. Polis said more than 58% of Coloradans received their first dose of the vaccine and are automatically registered for the lottery. According to CDPHE, the state is pooling all of those vaccine recipient's information for the lottery from the CIIS.
"The information included in CIIS typically includes the individual’s name, date of birth, address, email and phone number as well as the individual’s immunization information," CDPHE said in a statement to 13 Investigates.
According to the rules of the lottery, the CDPHE will randomly assign a number to each eligible person in CIIS and report those numbers to the Colorado Lottery on the day of each drawing. No personal health information will ever be disclosed to Colorado Lottery.
CDPHE tells 13 Investigates they are required to maintain the confidentiality of those records in the CIIS as well as the confidentiality of the system and the information contained in it.
