CA Gov. Awards $15 Mill. in Vaccine Prizes at Universal Hollywood

in Universal Studios Hollywood

A group of people posing for the camera

Credit: California Governor Gavin Newsom

Now that California is officially reopening, and many pandemic mandates are being lifted, Governor Gavin Newsom has deemed it cause for celebration.

For example, face mask mandates have been lifted at both Disneyland Resort and Universal Hollywood. To continue to keep everyone safe, Governor Gavin Newsom is still encouraging California residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves against COVID-19. The Governor held a reopening celebration today at Universal Studios Hollywood, where he raffled cash prizes to residents who have received the vaccine.

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Credit: California Governor Gavin Newsom

Right in front of the famous Universal Hollywood globe, Newsom had a giant raffle cage where 10 random California residents were picked to win a hefty payday! Each resident who was selected will be awarded $1.5 million! In total, Newsom gave out $15 million to help promote the continued fight against the pandemic. Everyone who is vaccinated in California will receive $50.00, however, this event was to showcase the grand prize winners.

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Credit: California Governor Gavin Newsom

It seems quite symbolic that the reopening ceremony for the state was held at Universal Hollywood, as Governor Newsom was in a tough standoff with California theme parks for quite some time throughout the height of the pandemic. The original theme park reopening guidelines did not allow Disneyland Resort or Universal Studios Hollywood to welcome back Guests, even though their sister parks in Orlando were open to the public.

Related: Disneyland vs. California: A Timeline of Confusing Events

Now, California theme parks and Florida theme parks are finally operating similarly. Both Disneyland and Universal Hollywood operate at 35% capacity, which is less than Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort.

However, both California theme parks are on track to continue moving towards larger capacity limits. 

If you want to take a look at the reopening ceremony, you can watch it below!

The ceremony concluded with Universal characters from the Minions film and Trolls World Tour coming out to celebrate.

Do you think of Governor Gavin Newsom giving out $15 million to continue promoting vaccination distribution? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

 

 

in Universal Studios Hollywood

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