People in California are being offered the chance to win a $1.5m (£1.06m) lottery prize if they get a coronavirus vaccine.

Ten vaccinated residents will be given the jackpot prize when the state fully reopens on 15 June, governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday.

Anyone over the age of 12 who has not been vaccinated or has only had one dose can apply for the $116.5m draw, which is the largest so far in the US.

Officials hope that it will encourage the 12 million people who are eligible but not yet vaccinated in California to come forward for their COVID-19 jabs.

Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world

The state is also handing out 30 $50,000 dollar prizes in a draw on 4 June.

And the next two million people to come forward for jabs are also being offered $50 gift cards to use in shops and supermarkets.

Mr Newsom said he hopes to give out all of the gift cards by 15 June – which would mean another two million Californians vaccinated by the time all business reopen and rules around masks and social distancing are relaxed.

The cash prizes will be funded by California’s disaster response account, which will then be reimbursed by federal coronavirus relief money, Mr Newsom’s spokeswoman Amelia Matier said.

He has defended the use of public funds by saying the “cost of not getting vaccinated is exponentially, incalculably higher”.

The governor visited a high school in Los Angeles on Thursday to make the announcement after a drop in numbers coming forward for their first jabs over the past week.

Around 63% of California’s population aged 12 and over have had at least one dose.

Other states have also been offering money for jabs, with Ohio launching a “Vax-a-Million” contest and New York handing out scholarships to children.

Related posts:

Officers are advised to ‘stay away from the neck’, ex-cop’s former colleague tells George Floyd trial San Francisco school board suspends plan to rename schools Tiger Woods driving at ‘excessive speed’ at time of car crash, police say Biden scraps Trump-era drilling programme in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge Coachella festival to return after two years off due to pandemic Number of dead in collapse of Miami apartment building rises to nine Antivirus tycoon John McAfee ‘took his own life’, Spanish media reports Georgia man jailed for life after four spa shootings still faces death penalty if convicted of four further killings Treat all missing cases equally, urges father of woman killed on road trip US government shutdown: What does it mean? Who will it impact? And can it be avoided? Prince Andrew’s lawyer asks judge to keep 2009 legal agreement sealed US fights to overturn Assange extradition ban – and says he could serve sentence in Australia