Latest VaxMillions Prizes Go To Norwood Teen, Billerica Woman

NORWOOD, MA — State officials announced the latest VaxMillions winners on Thursday, a seven-figure reminder to unvaccinated residents about incentives to get inoculated as the COVID-19 Delta variant circulates across the state.

Donna McNulty, a Billerica resident, won the second of five $1 million prizes the state is handing out to fully vaccinated residents. Blue Hills Regional Technical School student and Norwood resident Dylan Barron won the $300,000 college scholarship prize.

Although vaccination rates in Massachusetts are relatively high — the commonwealth is No. 2 out of 50 states for number of residents with at least one shot — there are still thousands of eligible residents who have not gotten a shot, and the number of new fully vaccinated people has been dropping in recent weeks.

As of July 27, only six of the state's 14 counties had achieved a 70 percent vaccination rate. The 70 percent threshold is seen as the minimum to reaching herd immunity.

The number of new fully vaccinated residents has been at or below about 6,000 each day since the beginning of July. In mid-June, the state was counting between 14,000 and 18,000 new fully vaccinated residents each day, according to state data.

In the meantime, the Delta variant has picked up speed. The state reported 962 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest daily number dating back to early May. The three available COVID-19 vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — provide very good protection against serious illness and death from the virus, according to health officials. Only about 0.18 percent of vaccinated residents have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the year, according to state data.

Three more winners in the $1 million and scholarship categories will be announced in the coming weeks. Any state resident who has been fully vaccinated can enter VaxMillions. The deadline to register for the final drawing is Aug. 19.

Want to get vaccinated? Use the state's VaxFinder website to see locations near you.