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Million Dollar Vax campaign offers $1 MILLION cash prize for Aussies who have received their COVID-19 vaccine

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One lucky Australian is set to win $1 million simply for being vaccinated against COVID-19.

That’s thanks to the Million Dollar Vax campaign, which is focused on accelerating Australia’s vaccination program in October.

See more about the campaign in the video above

More than $4.1 million worth of prizes will be given away, including $1000 gift cards and an ultimate prize of $1 million cash.

The campaign was created by the Million Dollar Vax Alliance - a group of philanthropists and corporations with the aim of increasing Australia’s vaccination rate.

“The purpose of the promotion is not to convince people to be vaccinated,” Craig Winkler of the Million Dollar Vax Alliance said.

“That’s a decision you should make in consultation with a health professional.

Teenager Charlotte Taylor receives a COVID vaccine at a pop-up drive-through vaccination clinic at Belmore Oval in Sydney. Credit: AAP

“The promotion simply seeks to reward people who decide to be vaccinated now rather than waiting, so that we can reduce the community impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The faster we reach higher vaccination rates nationally, higher than 80%, the sooner we all can safely resume our full range of community and business activity.”

The campaign was inspired by a similar campaign run in the US state of Ohio.

All Australian adults who have been vaccinated, or will be vaccinated, are eligible to enter.

To apply, people will need to hand over their personal details including their name, date of birth, phone number and email address.

Vaccine update

Australia is days away from reaching a significant milestone in its COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, with the number of jabs doled out edging toward the 30 million mark.

More than 79 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while around 56 per cent have been fully inoculated against the virus.

Four million jabs have been administered in the past fortnight alone.

File image of a vial of Moderna vaccine. Credit: AAP

Reaching 80 per cent single-dose vaccination coverage all but guarantees the country will also see 80 per cent of the population aged 16 and over fully protected against COVID-19 - the threshold for reopening the nation’s international border.

States and territories will access the new freedoms at different times, with vaccination coverage and home quarantine programs varying across jurisdictions.

But as the country draws near to the end of its initial rollout, National Cabinet, which met on Friday, has endorsed a plan to start third-dose booster vaccines later this year.