Jason Delgado
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Thursday joined the more than 5.8 million Floridians who have received a COVID-19 vaccine, making her the first statewide elected official to be publicly vaccinated.
She opted for Moderna.
“I want to show the rest of the State of Florida and our country how important is to get yourself vaccinated,” Fried told reporters inside Florida A&M University’s Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee. “This is a way we’re saving lives.”
Fried’s shot-in-the-arm comes days after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis opened COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to ages 40 and older. Eligibility broadens next on Monday to include those 18 and older, according to the Governor’s Office.
Speaking alongside FAMU President Larry Robinson, Fried stressed the vaccine and testing site’s importance. Minority communities, she contended, are underserved.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to encourage the members of our community, members of color, to get vaccinated,” Robinson said. “There’s a lot of vaccine hesitancy out there.”
After the meeting, Fried, a rumored 2024 gubernatorial contender, called on DeSantis to demonstrate more leadership regarding the state’s COVID-19 response.
She accused DeSantis of creating a “narrative” that the “pandemic is behind us.”
Moreover, she encouraged DeSantis to get publicly vaccinated, just as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris did.
“This is how we show leadership,” Fried said.
As of the latest COVID-19 vaccine report, more than 8.9 million vaccine doses have been administered in Florida. In all, the doses account for more than 5.8 million people.
DeSantis on Wednesday suggested that he will receive a COVID-19 vaccine soon, though he is unsure if he will make an event out of it.
“I’m not sure we’re going to do it on camera. We’ll see. If you guys want a gun show, we can do it, but I think we’re better off not,” DeSantis quipped.
In the past, DeSantis has said he would prefer the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
