'Get The Shot Today': Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried Urging Vaccinations As Florida COVID Cases Skyrocket
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says more effort needs to be made to stop the spread of COVID.
"Numbers in Florida continue to rapidly increase," she said during a COVID briefing Sunday.
Florida continues to lead the country in the number of new COVID-19 cases, with federal data revealing on Saturday that the state reported a record daily high of 21,683.
According to the Florida Department of Health, between July 23 and 29, there were 110,477 new COVID cases statewide – an 18% increase.
"If you're unvaccinated, I am speaking directly to you: Get the shot today," she said.
But Fried noted there have been an increase in vaccination numbers, with 334,000 doses being administered just last week. That's up from 288,000 the week before.
Some of those new vaccinations can be credited to organizations like Sensis, who's been in the community attempting to convince the unvaccinated to get the shot.
"There's obviously an emotional reason why they chose not to do it. There's been plenty of time, so I'm trying to identify what it is that they understand and see if we can counter that with some information," said Angela Kim from Sensis.
Kim says part is making sure the community understands the risk.
"We speak common language and we're coming to places like flea market in order to reach people," Kim said.
As for Fried, she says even those who are vaccinated should be taking precautions.
"If you're fully vaccinated – I live in an area of substantial community transmission, which unfortunately is this higher state of Florida all 67 of our counties – you should also continue to mask up in indoor setting," she said.
