Calgary woman 2nd winner of Alberta's $1M COVID-19 vaccine lottery

A Calgary woman has won a $1 million cash prize from Alberta's COVID-19 vaccine lottery.

Amie Gee's name was drawn from over 1.85 million entries, the provincial government said in a release Thursday.

 In a video meeting with Premier Jason Kenney, Gee said it was "crazy" to hear the news.

"As many people that can get [the vaccine], the better off we will be, the sooner we will be out of this," she said.

When asked by Kenney what she plans to do with the prize, Gee said she plans to "spread a little joy."

• Calgary-area man first to win $1M in Alberta COVID-19 vaccine lottery
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Along with the million dollar prize, the release says 42 recipients won travel prizes donated by Air Canada, WestJet, and the Rocky Mountaineer and Juniper Hotel.

"The reason we did this whole lottery was to encourage folks to get the jab to protect themselves and our whole community," said Kenney in the video. 

"We just need to encourage more young people to get out there and do the right thing." 

The next million-dollar winners will be announced Sept. 30 and is open to all Albertans who are 18 and older and fully vaccinated with two doses.

On Thursday, 70 per cent of the province's eligible population has now received two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, while about 78.2 per cent of eligible Albertans have received at least one dose.

Both numbers are the lowest among the provinces, according to CBC's vaccine tracker. About 76.6 per cent of eligible Canadians have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

People can find available vaccine appointments online or by calling 811.