'Vax & Scratch' lottery scheme aims to up New York COVID-19 shots

NEW YORK - You gotta get poked to win, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday, unveiling a $5 million lottery prize incentive for New Yorkers who get their first COVID-19 vaccination shots next week.

The "Vax & Scratch" program provides free state lottery scratch-off tickets to New Yorkers age 18 and older who get a first dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech shot or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine from May 24 to May 28. "As vaccination rates slow across the state, we're going to have to get creative to put even more shots in arms," Cuomo said in a statement. "The more New Yorkers we get vaccinated, the faster we can return to a new normal."