JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — More and more businesses are dropping mask policies, and some major events recently decided not to require COVID-19 vaccinations.
On Friday, the top health U.S. health official made a stop in Jacksonville to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra stressed that the changes do not mean the pandemic is over.
The secretary talked about vaccine confidence, COVID-19 testing and supporting front-line workers who have been treating the sick.
Becerra’s first stop was at Black Men Engaged, a community group that has partnered with HHS and aimed at getting more people vaccinated.
“There are people that would be vaccinated if they had all the information if they had the confidence that they were hearing from trusted voices, and if they knew that they didn’t have to search for where to get vaccinated and it was something that was available to them,” Becerra said.
There, he heard from Jacksonville’s faith and city leaders and talked about access to health care — especially for communities of color.
Becerra says health centers are the most effective at getting people vaccinated.
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“More than 19 million Americans have their vaccines because of the health centers. But the important thing here is that more than two-thirds of those folks are people of color,” he added.
As governors drop mask mandates across the country, Action News Jax’s Stephanie Bennett asked the secretary if he feels we’re jumping back to normal too soon.
“If you’re a government leader, I hope you do everything you can to keep your people safe and healthy,” he answered. “Masks work, they’re effective, they keep you safe, they keep you from dying. COVID is still around, and the omicron variant has proven to us that it knows how to find you, and we need to stay safe.”
Becerra’s next stop was at UF Health, where he met with front-line workers and hospital leaders. Click here to read about what Becerra said about hospital employee vaccine mandates.
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