FOX31 Denver

Are people vaccinated in clinical trials eligible for $1 million lottery?

DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is fielding thousands of calls and emails from Coloradans wanting to make sure their information is entered for the Comeback Cash drawing.

As of Wednesday, the state said it received 26,800 emails and 1,530 phone calls through the CIIS Help Desk since announcing the vaccine lottery. The Colorado Vaccine Hotline has also fielded 2,000 CIIS-related calls.

State officials said just because you cannot find your name in the portal, it does not mean you are not in the database.

Some people have questions about the way they received the vaccine, and if that impacts their eligibility in the drawing.

Jeremiah Way received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in November through a UCHealth phase 3 clinical trial. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not FDA-approved.

“We got the doses two weeks apart, like normal. and have been going there every month for blood draws to make sure that everything is there and all the levels are where they need to be,” Way said.

The CDPHE’s website only lists Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson under eligibility requirements. But the state says they have been including all active COVID vaccine codes, including AstraZeneca and Novavax.

So far, they have entered 540 AstraZeneca doses in CIIS and 462 doses of Novavax.