‘Vaccines are saving lives’: DeSantis stresses importance of shots as Florida COVID cases spike, criticizes mask mandates

WFLA 8 Tampa ^ | Melanie Michael

[semimojo]

Gov. Ron DeSantis was in St. Petersburg to discuss red tide on Wednesday, but took time to answer questions and address Florida’s recent spike in coronavirus cases and stress the importance of the COVID vaccine.

“Here’s, I think, the most important thing with the data: if you are vaccinated, fully vaccinated, the chance of you getting seriously ill or dying from COVID is effectively zero,” DeSantis said. “If you look at the people who are being admitted to hospitals, over 95 percent of them are either not fully vaccinated or not vaccinated at all. These vaccines are saving lives. They are reducing mortality.”

The governor said he’s been urging people to get vaccinated for months because of what he called the “summer season.”...

While DeSantis stressed the importance and efficacy of the vaccine, he also warned against government officials pushing vaccination too hard.

“They have different reasons for why they don’t take it and I think the more they’re hectored by government officials or some of these folks – that is not going to get them to ‘yes.’ I can tell you that right now,” he said. “I think these are folks that have skepticism of authorities. I think they have different reasons why they may not do it. I don’t think most of them think COVID is a hoax or anything. I think they understand.”

[DoodleDawg]

Lots of GOP vaccine encouragement this week. I suspect as a reaction to polling.

It's in reaction so something and I'm not sure what. Polling makes as much sense as anything.

[adorno]

Nope. Don’t even know anyone else who got Covid except me and my family in NOVEMBER 2019. Not one of has been sick with ANYTHING since.

The virus is still running around, and will be around the world for a few more years, and probably forever. And, Covid is not the only virus or illness coming for you and your family. Watch out! ;)

[Maskot]

And you know what? That has been since the beginning of time, my friend. This virus is being treated like it is the black plague by our illustrious and oh so much smarter than us lawmakers. It’s been hyped to the point of absurdity and so are the vaccines that they’re pushing

[adorno]

This virus is being treated like it is the black plague by our illustrious and oh so much smarter than us lawmakers.

It's quite possible that this virus could have been much worse than the black plague, were it not for modern medicine and research and the availability of vaccines. So, don't dismiss it as if it weren't damaging enough.

Instead of the 4 million+ deaths around the world, we could have had 10s of millions dead.

I also saw members of my family contract the disease, including my son, and he suffered from it for around 2 weeks, and my wife saw 2 cousins die from the disease. So, I've got good reason to be very careful. BTW, I got the disease and so did my wife, and my son and his wife and their son, so, we then went to get vaccinated, just in case.

[Maskot]

So you do you and leave everyone else alone who doesn’t feel like being a human guinea pig for a fauxinne that’s being administered under emergency powers. Glad you “feel safe” 🙃

[adorno]

So you do you and leave everyone else alone who doesn’t feel like being a human guinea pig

Advising people to seek help and get vaccinated, is not the same as asking them to become guinea pigs. There is a difference. Hopefully you know that difference.