Twenty-five vaccinated young Coloradans will each win $50,000 scholarships between next week and early July, Gov. Jared Polis announced Wednesday as part of the state’s growing push to improve slagging vaccine uptake.

The scholarship program will dole out $1.25 million in total winnings to 12 to 17-year-olds who’ve been inoculated, Polis said.

Five winners will be selected each week beginning next week and continuing through July 9. The money will be placed in a college savings account and is usable for four-year, two-year, technical and vocational colleges and schools, both in state and out of state.

Anyone who has been vaccinated in that group, or will be vaccinated in the coming weeks, will be automatically enrolled in the sweepstakes, Polis said. The winners will be notified each Monday, with a public announcement each Friday.

“We know that the pandemic had a very significant impact on students and on education,” said Angie Paccione, the executive director of the state’s Department of Higher Education. “We saw undergrad enrollment decline over the last year and a half. Many first-year students decided to take a gap year. This scholarship sends a clear message to our state that we need you for our Colorado comeback.”

The announcement comes a week after Polis announced five vaccinated Coloradans older than 17 would each win $1 million between June 4 and July 7.

The governor has touted similar efforts elsewhere, telling reporters last week that Ohio experienced a double-digit percentage bump in its vaccination rates, particularly among younger residents. 

But the early days of the $1 million sweepstakes have produced no such jump in Colorado: Vaccinations continued to slump throughout May and are significantly below their April peaks.

A week out, Polis struck a more reserved tone about the goals of the incentive programs Wednesday. He said he didn’t think “anybody was expecting a spike” in vaccination rates because of the $1 million sweepstakes and that he would expect more interest once the first winners are announced Friday.

“I think what would’ve happened without this giveaway is a greater, rapid drop-off in interest,” he said. “We want to sustain that over time, we don’t want to see a rapid decline.”

In sync with its first sweepstakes announcement last week, the state unveiled a digital portal through which vaccinated Coloradans can check to ensure their status is registered with the state database.

But many residents complained that, despite being vaccinated, they couldn’t find their name in the database. That problem is still ongoing, Polis acknowledged.

Officials for the state Department of Public Health and Environment said last week that the problem was likely because providers mistyped or misspelled patients’ names, addresses or other personal information when entering it into the state system.

The agency said that the problems will not impact people’s ability to enter and win the sweepstakes.

With Wednesday’s announcement, Colorado is now running two programs to financially incentivize Coloradans to get vaccinated.

The first was announced last week: Five Coloradans will win $1 million each between June 4 and July 7. That program is open only to those older than 17. Anyone who has been vaccinated, including before the program was announced, is automatically entered to win. Winners will be publicly announced June 4, June 11, June 18, June 25 and July 7. 

The second was announced Wednesday: Twenty-five younger residents, who aren’t eligible for the $1 million prizes, will be selected to each win $50,000 scholarships in June and early July. The program is open to Coloradans between the ages of 12 and 17, and anyone in that age group who’s been vaccinated is automatically entered. Five winners will be contacted on five successive Monday beginning June 7, and the winners will be publicly announced the following Friday.