Vaccines are coming, do the right thing and get one

COVID 19 has spread mass fear, taking lives, causing isolation, destroying our businesses and paralyzing our children’s growth and academic gains. This is why

I will get vaccinated as soon as possible and I urge you to do the same. We need to protect our vulnerable neighbors, rebuild our businesses, get back to work and get students back to school in a healthy, interactive environment.

I was invited to the Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit in Washington D.C. this week alongside doctors, scientists, industry executives and other state and local leaders. After attending, I am now even more hopeful about 2021.

I am confident in the science behind the vaccines and I am confident that the Emergency Use Authorization coming this week from the FDA is only being given after evaluating the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.

The current projections are that 20 million will receive the vaccine by the end of the year, with another 30 million distributed in January, 50 million in February, and everyone vaccinated by June 2021. At the summit, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to prioritize vaccine doses for Americans first.

President Trump, Vice President Pence, Gov. DeSantis and the entire Operation Warp Speed team briefed local elected officials around the country about the vaccination plan that began as soon as COVID-19 was discovered. The federal government invested $14 billion to accelerate vaccine development and to manufacture top vaccine candidates in advance. Partnerships with private companies allowed for multiple pathways forward to be developed simultaneously at a breakneck speed.

As a result, Pfizer and Moderna will begin distributing their vaccines as soon as the FDA gives the Emergency Use Authorization. Both companies’ vaccines are approximately 95% effective. And early next year, Johnson and Johnson and three other companies are projected to have vaccines ready, too. Current vaccines require a two-shot process. Johnson and Johnson’s will be one-dose, one-shot.

Of course, what good is having a vaccine unless it gets used? Thankfully, the Trump administration has worked extensively and collaboratively with UPS, FedEx, CVS and Walgreens to ship and administer vaccines at an unprecedented pace. Help is on the way, and soon we will need to do our part by getting the vaccine ourselves.

Each state will decide who receives the vaccine first. Typically this will include the elderly, patients with underlying conditions, hospital staff, first responders and those who work with seniors. Here in Florida, I am pushing to see our brave firefighters included on that list.

I am confident in the science behind the vaccines and I am confident that the Emergency Use Authorization coming this week from the FDA is only being given after evaluating the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.

Federal and state governments have a plan in place, and now it is up to us at the local level to implement that plan. I am ready and committed to do that here in Fort Lauderdale. By working together, we will save lives, improve our health and well-being and rebuild our economy.

As President Trump stated at the summit, “Every American who wants the vaccine will be able to get the vaccine.” And I am calling on our neighbors to get the vaccine when it becomes available.

Remember, a vaccine only works if we are vaccinated. I want this vaccine to work for all of us.