Hawai‘i Launches a Website Offering Prizes for Vaccinated People
And the chance to win a trip to Las Vegas or 1,000 dollars in gift certificates was instantly so popular, we all crashed higotvaccinated.com for almost an hour.
The new higovaccinated.com website.
Remember the days when we all received the news at 5 p.m. or in the morning paper? Nope. In the past year, we’ve all gotten so used to watching press conferences live online that I feel more crowded by the fast-flying comments on the page streaming it live on Facebook than if I was standing at the actual event.
Friday, June 4, Gov. David Ige and the Department of Health announced higotvaccinated.com, a new website offering discounts, deals and giveaways to any Hawaiʻi resident who has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot. Less than a minute later, I couldn’t even get online. Keep refreshing. You’ll get there. (Note, I found it easier to access it on my phone than my laptop.)
Here’s how it works: Go to higotvaccinated.com. When you are able to load it, register with your first and last name, email address, phone number and full address. You will check the box to let them know you haven’t lied, and another to prove you’re not a robot, then you’re done.
SEE ALSO: Hawai‘i Drops Outside COVID-19 Mask Requirements
The bigger prize announced on Friday was a significant loosening of travel restrictions. With 52% of the population now fully vaccinated, Hawaiʻi is making it easier to go holoholo. On June 15, all restrictions for interisland travel will be dropped. People who were vaccinated in Hawaiʻi will be able to fly in to the state without a pre-travel test or quarantine. Once 60% of residents have received both doses, the state will accept proof of vaccination for travelers from the mainland. And if we get to 70%, all restrictions will be dropped.
Big news indeed. But, during the discussion, thousands were busy registering (or trying to) on higotvaccinated.com. If you want to join them, the deadline to enter, which means your deadline to get your first shot, is 11:59 p.m. on June 30.
What can you win? Once I kept reloading the page for about 30 minutes, I got through. By about 2:30 p.m. the site seemed to have stabilized from the first rush. The prizes are big, and more tempting with travel restrictions relaxed. A trip to Las Vegas from Vacations Hawai’i, a roundtrip ticket on Alaska Airlines, Zippy’s for a year, 100,000 Hawaiian Miles, a one-year lease from Autosource, $1,000 in gift certificates to ChefZone and Pearl City Shopping Center.
In the deals section, you can receive $10 off a HONOLULU Magazine subscription with code IMVAX (full disclosure, I’m a big fan of the magazine) as well as up to 20% off or free items at more than 15 restaurants and businesses. We see teases for Papa John’s and hints that more businesses will be giving and there is a link for anyone who wants to add their own offer as incentive.
So stay tuned and keep hitting refresh.
