Sydney: Covid-19 is far from over, so governments around the world have been encouraging people to take Covid-19 vaccines, and are offering huge incentives to attract them. One such incentive proved incredibly lucky for a 25-year-old Sydney woman who has become a millionaire overnight after winning Australia’s vaccine lottery prize. Notably, Joanne Zhu is one of the millions of Australians who got the coronavirus vaccine and became a millionaire in the lucky draw.
On Sunday, Joanne Zhu was announced the winner of The Million Dollar Vax Alliance lottery and she ended up winning $1 million or Rs 7.4 crore for receiving her COVID-19 vaccinations. She told Today that she plans to hold a family reunion with her new-found wealth.
“I want to fly my family out from China first-class and put them up in a five-star hotel for Chinese New Year if the borders are open. I will buy presents for my family and invest the rest of the money so I can make more money in the future and to help people if they need help,” she said.
According to reports, Joanne had no clue she had won the prize until the lottery authorities gave her a call.
“Someone rang me the other day. I think it was on Friday, and I was at work, I couldn’t pick up the phone. Then I called them back and she said: “Oh, you won a million dollars! You’re the only one in Australia’!”
The prize is the brainchild of philanthropists and companies from Australia, who wanted to increase vaccination rates among Australians. The Million Dollar Vax project also gave away 100 gift cards with $1,000 in spending money in addition to the $1 million cash reward.