Florida Sen. Marco Rubio: 'Everyone Should Be Vaccinated'
MIAMI (CBSMiami/CBSNews) – As COVID-19 cases rise in all 50 states, especially Florida, Senator Marco Rubio told "CBS This Morning" there is no reason why Americans shouldn't be getting vaccinated.
"Ultimately, people should get vaccinated. The government's been telling people for a long time, 'you shouldn't smoke, it causes cancer and heart disease,' and people decide to do it. The numbers have come down, people still do it. They tell us to watch what we eat, because if you get overweight, you can develop diabetes and heart disease. But it still happens."
Florida accounts for 20% of all new COVID-19 infections. Despite this, Rubio said it is not the government's responsibility to ensure people get vaccinated.
"Everyone should be vaccinated. There's no reason not to be vaccinated. I'm vaccinated, my family's vaccinated. The people shouldn't listen to people who tell them not to, all these things that are out there being said are just not accurate. At the end of the day, it's up to people to make that decision," Rubio said.
A July CBS News/You Gov poll found that 29% of Republicans surveyed said they would not get vaccinated. But Rubio believes that vaccinations shouldn't be a partisan issue, and there is hesitancy on both sides and in all social groups.
"I don't think the skepticism is just among Republicans. I see all kinds of voices that I don't think are ideological. It's people who decide they want to believe something they read somewhere."
WATCH: Sen. Marco Rubio on CBS This Morning
"There are communities, for example some African-American and Hispanic communities in Florida, where there's a high hesitancy to get vaccinated as well for a lot of different reasons. It's really not a partisan issue. I don't care what the polling says. At the end of the day, the vaccine is the vaccine. It's a human thing. Either you take it, or you don't. There are people who don't want to be vaccinated and you can't convince them. I have family members, friends I've known for a long time, who just refuse to do it."
Senator Rubio urged Americans to get vaccinated to protect themselves from getting seriously ill and overflowing already strained hospitals.
"Everybody should get vaccinated. Let me say that one more time. Please do. Because even if you get the disease… you don't go to the hospital, you don't get intubated, and you don't die."
He added, "My high school football teammate just died."