In a press conference today in St. Petersburg, Florida Governor Ron Desantis joined a growing list of conservative politicians and Fox News tv hosts like Sean Hannity, encouraging people to please get the Covid-19 vaccination. Florida now counts for over 20% of the nation’s positive tests for the new delta variant of the virus.

“It absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated,” Hannity said during his Monday program. “I believe in science, I believe in the science of vaccination.”

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Hannity said, “Just like we’ve been saying, please take COVID seriously. I can’t say it enough. Enough people have died. We don’t need any more death.”

In March 2020,  Hannity referred to the virus as a hoax on-air, saying, “They’re scaring the living hell out of people and I see it again as like, ‘Oh, let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax.’”

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Yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed the same plea for people to get vaccinated.

The chances of a fully vaccinated person getting seriously ill or dying is “effectively zero,” the Desantis said. He went on to say that “nearly 95% of people admitted to hospitals with the disease aren’t fully vaccinated.” He stated that of course some people who have been vaccinated are still contracting the disease, but the vaccine is protecting them from actually getting sick or having minor symptoms if any at all.

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“These vaccines are saving lives. They are reducing mortality,” DeSantis said.

According to data released from the Florida Department of Health, only 51.2% of eligible Floridians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s despite vaccines being widely available with vaccine sites nearly empty from lack of demand.

On how to get more people to be vaccinated, Desantis said, “I think that 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. I think these are folks that have skepticism of authorities.”

Hospitals in Florida are reporting that their ICUs are now at full capacity as the virus explodes across the state.

His comments today are followed by his reelection campaign unveiling merchandise last week, including t-shirts and beer koozies that read “Don’t Fauci My Florida.” 

A recent survey found that one-fifth of polled adults believe it is “definitely true” or “probably true” that COVID-19 vaccinations contain government-issued microchips. 

When broken down along party lines, the survey found that 32 percent of Republicans said it was “definitely” or “probably” true, while 14 percent of Democrats said it was “definitely” or “probably” true. 

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