Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that in an effort to “defend freedom,” the state will fine any local government that demands vaccination of its employees against COVID-19.
He reiterated his stance that vaccines are “available to everyone, but mandatory for none” and based his comments on the legislation, SB 2006, which he signed in May. Among other things, the law prohibits businesses and local governments in the state from requiring people to prove that they have been vaccinated or have recovered from a COVID infection to use their services.
“If a Florida state government agency imposes a vaccine as a condition of employment, this violates Florida law and you will face a $ 5,000 fine for each violation,” DeSantis said Monday. “And so if you look at places here in Alachua County, like the city of Gainesville, that’s potentially millions and millions of dollars in fines.”
SB 2006 does not prohibit governments from enforcing COVID-19 vaccines.
DeSantis emphasized the issue with regard to police, firefighters and other emergency officers, saying: “Many of them have already had COVID. Okay. Let’s be honest … Those who have recovered have a very strong immunity “.
The CDC says people should be vaccinated regardless of whether they already have COVID, because “research has not yet shown how long you are protected from getting COVID-19 again after recovering from COVID-19.” One study showed that unvaccinated people who already had COVID were more than twice as likely as fully vaccinated people to get COVID again.
“We will stand up for the men and women who serve us. We will protect jobs in Florida. We will not let people be fired because of a vaccine warrant,” DeSantis said. “… Don’t just set aside people who have been serving faithfully on this issue, but on what is basically a personal choice about their personal health.”
A longtime employee from Alachua County also spoke at the conference, saying he faces downtime because he has not been vaccinated. For him, he said, “it’s not about the vaccine, it’s about the mandatory vaccination.”
“No one should tell you what to put in your body. I choose what’s in my body. Of course, I eat burgers and fries, but that’s my choice,” he said, saying no one should ‘force vegetarians to eat meat.
He also falsely claimed that the vaccine changes the body’s RNA, a claim that scientists and scientists have continually claimed to be incorrect. COVID vaccine mRNA teaches body cells to make a “ear protein“which looks like the top of the coronavirus, so if a coronavirus is detected in the body, the immune system can recognize and attack it. The vaccine does not alter the DNA.
For months, Florida has led the county in the number of COVID cases. Since the pandemic began, there have been about 3.5 million cases and nearly 50,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
In Alachua County, where Gainesville is located, there have been more than 5,700 cases in the past 28 days, according to Johns Hopkins. Gainesville has been sued by 200 employees who claim vaccine warrants violate state law. But a city spokesman told CBS Miami that the city retains the right to demand that mandate.
The counties that have been hardest hit by COVID are among those that require the vaccine from county employees. In August, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that all county employees should demonstrate their vaccine or undergo weekly testing.
Miami-Dade has continuously maintained the highest number of COVID cases in the state. There have been more than 58,300 cases in the past 28 days, according to Johns Hopkins.
“Our community has endured too much,” Levine Cava said. “With vaccination we can avoid any additional pain, we can avoid losing more fellow workers, co-workers and friends. We can avoid what can really be avoided.”