Surgeon General urges Floridians to get vaccinated as new COVID-19 Delta Variant spreads

WASHINGTON D.C. – United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy gave a stark warning about the spike of new coronavirus cases in the Sunshine State.

“I’m very worried about my home state of Florida,” Murthy said Wednesday. “The Delta Variant is the most transmissible version of COVID-19 that we’ve seen to date.”

The highly contagious strain accounts for 83 percent of new infections, with more than 35,000 COVID-19 cases reported every day.

That’s up 145 percent in just the last two weeks.

Hospitalizations due to the virus are up 50 percent, with 90 percent of the patients unvaccinated.

“We have the vaccine to help reduce this, and majority of the patients are coming through the door unvaccinated,” said Methodist University Hospital RN Matt Robinson.

As a result, the public health emergency declaration was extended.

Dr. Murthy warns of the threat of misinformation deterring people from getting the shot and told Local 10 News that the vaccine is safe and effective.

“It’s painful and heartbreaking to see our state go through such difficult times again,” Murthy said. “We know how to tackle this. If you are unvaccinated, please, please, go to vaccines.gov put in your zip code, find places around you where you can get vaccinated.”


About the Author:

Ben Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning Washington Bureau Chief for Local 10 News.