'It's been a rough year' - winner of California vaccine lottery speaks out

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The next group of $50,000 winners from the state's vaccination incentive program will be picked Friday.

In the meantime, we're hearing from one of last week's first 15 winners.

The man, only identified as Tony, says he's lived off his savings for the last year and a half.

"It's been a rough year and a half for me and for everybody else out there," he said. "It's nice to have this extra money come in."

RELATED: The California vaccine lottery: How it works, how to enter

Officials walked a North Hills neighborhood and literally went door to door to dole out COVID-19 vaccines.

The state's vaccine incentive lottery program offers $116.5 million in prizes for Californians who get vaccinated. That includes prizes of $50,000 each for 30 people, drawn at random last Friday and on June 11. The state is also giving out $2 million in $50 Target gift cards for those who get vaccinated.

The state will choose 10 winners of the $1.5 million grand prize on Tuesday, the same day most restrictions on social distancing and other protocols are lifted.

More details are available at covid19.ca.gov/vax-for-the-win.