
Colorado introduced a vaccine incentive program called Colorado Comeback Cash, which will feature five $1 million prizes given out to five lucky COVID-19 vaccine recipients. The program is designed to encourage more Coloradans to get vaccinated and to reverse declining vaccine interest. The sweepstakes will be funded by federal funds through the CARES Act. Anyone 18 and older who has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and has their records in the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) is automatically entered into the sweepstakes. You can check your immunization record through the online Colorado Immunization Information System Public Portal. If your record is missing, you can contact the CIIS Help Desk to get your record added.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the program | Colorado Comeback Cash |
| Number of drawings | 5 |
| Drawing dates | June 4 to July 7 |
| Day of the week | Friday |
| Entry deadline | Midnight on Tuesday of each week |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Number of doses required | 1 |
| Database | Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) |
| Database type | Confidential |
| Database contents | Demographic information about vaccine recipients |
| Number of prizes | 5 |
| Prize amount | $1 million |
| Scholarship prizes for 12- to 17-year-olds | 25 prizes of $50,000 |
| Source of prize money | Marketing and promotion budget for the vaccine program |
| Total prize money | $5 million |
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What You'll Learn

Colorado Comeback Cash
Under the Colorado Comeback Cash sweepstakes, anyone 18 and older who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine was eligible for the drawings. The program held five drawings between June 4 and July 7, 2021, with each drawing awarding $1 million to one lucky winner. The winners were chosen through a random drawing run by the Colorado Lottery, with anonymous numbers assigned to eligible individuals.
To be entered into the sweepstakes, individuals needed to ensure their vaccination information was received and accepted as valid by the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) by 11:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on the night before the drawing. The CIIS is a confidential database that collects demographic information about vaccine recipients, such as address, phone number, and email address, from vaccine providers. However, the Colorado Lottery does not have access to this personal information.
Individuals could check their immunization records through the online CIIS Public Portal. If their records were missing or incorrect, they could contact their vaccine provider or the CIIS Help Desk to verify and update their information. It was important for individuals to ensure that the information they entered into the portal matched exactly what they provided to their vaccine provider to avoid any discrepancies.
The Colorado Comeback Cash program was funded by federal funds through the CARES Act, which was intended for advertising and marketing the vaccine program. The initiative followed similar vaccination incentive efforts in other states, such as New York, Ohio, and Oregon, which had shown success in increasing vaccination rates.
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Sweepstakes eligibility
Colorado Comeback Cash is a new program that will feature five $1 million prizes given out to five lucky COVID-19 vaccine recipients. The sweepstakes will be funded by federal funds through the CARES Act. The money will come out of the marketing and promotion budget for the vaccine program.
To be eligible for the sweepstakes, you must be a Colorado resident aged 18 or older and have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The deadline for receiving the first dose was the end of May, but those who get vaccinated in June are still eligible for upcoming drawings. Your vaccination information must be received and accepted as valid by the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) by 11:59 pm Mountain Standard Time the night before the drawing. If you are unable to verify your immunization information through the online CIIS portal, it may be because the information you provided does not exactly match what the provider entered. In this case, you should contact your provider to confirm how your information was reported to CIIS. If that is not possible, you can contact the CIIS Help Desk to verify your information and/or update your contact information.
If you are a Colorado resident who was vaccinated out-of-state, your vaccination may not be on record in CIIS. You can contact the CIIS Help Desk and provide proof of vaccination to be added to the database.
It's important to note that this is a drawing, not a lottery, and no one has to pay or put up anything to participate. If you win, you can choose to decline the prize. Additionally, your personal health information will not be disclosed without your consent.
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Scholarship contests
The Colorado Comeback Cash sweepstakes is a program that awards cash prizes to vaccinated residents. It is not a lottery, as no payment or purchase is necessary to enter. Instead, it is a drawing, and the only requirement for entry is receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The sweepstakes are funded by federal funds through the CARES Act, which would have otherwise been spent on advertising and marketing for the vaccine.
The Colorado Lottery will randomly assign a number to each eligible person in the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) and use a random number generator to select a winner. Winners will be contacted and asked if their personal health information can be used to award them the prize. The sweepstakes will be held over five weeks, with one winner each week receiving $1 million.
For those aged 12-17, there is a separate scholarship contest. There are 25 prizes of $50,000 scholarships for vaccinated students in this age group.
To check if you are entered in the sweepstakes, you can check your vaccination records through the online Colorado Immunization Information System Public Portal. It might take a few days for providers to put their information into the system, so if you cannot find your record, you should contact your vaccine provider to ensure they submitted your information. If they have, and your record is still not in the database, you can contact the CIIS Help Desk or the state hotline.
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Database issues
In May 2021, Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced a COVID-19 vaccine drawing, called the Colorado Comeback Cash Program, where five lucky Coloradans would win $1 million each week. The program aimed to reverse the declining interest in vaccinations through giveaways. However, soon after the announcement, thousands of people faced issues with the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) database, struggling to verify their immunization information.
The CIIS database was created in 2007 by the Colorado Immunization Registry Act and has records from that point onwards. While the database is supposed to automatically receive and store vaccination data, several people reported issues with their records being missing or incomplete. Some common issues included discrepancies in the information entered by the vaccine provider, such as name variations or missing middle names, and the system's inability to handle name changes. Additionally, the database did not automatically receive vaccination data for Colorado residents from non-Colorado providers, leading to gaps in records for those vaccinated out of state.
To address these issues, the CIIS Help Desk advised individuals to ensure that the information they entered matched exactly what they provided to their vaccine provider, including first and last name, date of birth, gender, and contact information. If issues persisted, individuals were advised to contact their vaccine provider to update their information or provide proof of vaccination to the CIIS staff for manual addition to the database. Despite the database issues, Governor Polis assured those facing problems that they were still eligible for the lottery.
The Colorado Comeback Cash Program faced criticism for its implementation and eligibility issues. Some questioned the effectiveness of the program in increasing vaccination rates, especially with the technical barriers preventing eligible individuals from verifying their entries. The state health department acknowledged the issues and worked with various departments to find solutions, ensuring that eligible individuals would not be disadvantaged due to database problems.
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Random number generator
The Colorado Comeback Cash sweepstakes is a program that awards $1 million each week to five lucky COVID-19 vaccine recipients. The program was announced by Governor Jared Polis in May 2021. The sweepstakes is part of a growing number of states trying to reverse declining vaccine interest through giveaways.
The Colorado Lottery will use a random number generator to draw a winning number. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will randomly assign a number to each eligible person in the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) and report those numbers to the Colorado Lottery on the day of each drawing. The Colorado Lottery will then use a random number generator to draw a winning number from within the range provided by CDPHE.
If you got the vaccine, and your name is in the statewide database, you are entered in the sweepstakes. To check if you're in the database, you can access your vaccination records through the online Colorado Immunization Information System Public Portal. It might take a few days for providers to put their information into the system. If you still can't find yourself in the database, make sure your provider submitted your vaccination information. If they say they did, contact the CIIS Help Desk (303-692-2437, option 2) to check that the state has your data.
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Frequently asked questions
You are automatically entered into the lottery when you receive your first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
You can check your vaccination records through the online Colorado Immunization Information System Public Portal. If you are unable to verify your information, contact your vaccine provider to ensure your information was entered accurately. If this is not possible, contact the CIIS Help Desk to verify that you are in the system.
Yes, you must be a Colorado resident and have received your vaccine in the state to be eligible for the lottery.
There will be five weekly drawings between June 4 and July 7, with each drawing awarding $1 million to one winner.

















