NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans man is a hundred thousand dollars richer and all he had to do was get a COVID-vaccine. He’s one of the first two winners from Louisiana Shot at a Million vaccine lottery, aimed to get more people vaccinated.
When a woman from the state health department called Clement Dasalla’s phone earlier this week, he thought it was a scam.
“She said it’s not a joke, it’s not a scam and I said I still don’t know if I believe you,” said Dasalla.
After some convincing, reality set in. Complete with a call from Governor John Bel Edwards and a big check, the 30-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department won $100,000 in Louisiana’s vaccination lottery, which he almost didn’t enter.
“I had only won something once before in my life and that wasn’t much,” said Dasalla. “It was one of those things where you buy a ticket and it’s 50/50, at a crawfish boil.”
When he told his wife Evelyn, she couldn’t believe it either.
“He says, I’ve got some good news honey and I said well what’s that. He says I won $100,000. Well, I’m screaming and hollering and everything else,” said Evelyn Dasalla.
The Dasallas aren’t the only lucky ones. Hammond High School senior Skyla Degrasse won a $100,000 scholarship, which also prompted a call from the governor.
During a news conference Friday Governor Edwards said Degrasse plans to use the scholarship at Southeastern.
“I don’t know whether she was more excited or her mother Sandra,” said Governor John Bel Edwards.
Their luck comes with a harsh reality as a new coronavirus surge hits Louisiana. Medical leaders say that’s thanks to not enough people being vaccinated and the Delta variant, which is a different virus than last year.
“It’s different for one main reason. When it gets into our body it hides for a little bit. It’s super smart because we let it figure out how to evade our immune system,” said Dr. Catherine O’Neal, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge.
Currently, Governor Edwards says only 50 percent of Louisiana adults have at least one dose of the vaccine, which is not enough immunity to stop transmission. The Dasallas got their vaccines back in February. Having existing pulmonary health conditions, Dasalla knew what was at stake.
“I knew that if I contracted this, COVID, it was a death sentence,” said Dasalla.
Whether lucky enough to win, Dasalla says there’s not enough money in the world worth more than protecting himself and those he loves.
“I would definitely, to anybody that I care about, try to convince them to get the shot,” said Dasalla.