- Title: Taking the fight against COVID-19 door-to-door in Florida
- Date: 24th July 2021
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL BOSTIC, NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT, SAYING: "My opinion is I had something bad happen to somebody I know, so I don't really approve on my end, but it's not, so everybody's opinion is there opinion. So, if you should take it, you take it. You know, I advise people to take it if you know that your health is ready for you to take it." . (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNNAMED VOLUNTEER SPEAKING WITH WOMAN ABOUT VACCINE, SAYING: "So, we are going around passing out cards. We also have a table set up right down the street of food and vaccinations if you want to get your vaccination. (WOMAN SAYS I ALREADY GOT MY VACCINATION) If you want some food, we've got food down there too. Right at the church, right at the corner. Ok. So would you help us with our "Not my Son" campaign to help stop the violence in the community Thank you so much." VOLUNTEERS PLACE YARD SIGN IN FRONT OF HOUSE
- Embargoed: 7th August 2021 19:08
- Keywords: COVID-19 Florida Not My Son St. Petersburg Police door-to-door outreach vaccines
- Location: ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- City: ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Health/Medicine,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA007EN79LJB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The battle against COVID-19 is going door-to-door in St. Petersburg, Florida, as the Bethel AME Church has partnered with the St. Petersburg Police Department to encourage the community to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and promote efforts to stop gun violence.
At front doors every week, the "Not My Son" campaign in is not only sending a message about gun violence, but is encouraging people to get vaccinated.
"It's not just about crime, but its about public safety, and so we have merged our 'Not my Son' campaign in partnership with the Health Department to also offer vaccinations to people in the community," Rev. Kenneth Irby, Director of Community Intervention and Juvenile Outreach for the St. Petersburg Police Department, said. "We can't have that conversation without them being alive."
The campaign comes as the seven-day average of new cases in the United States is up 53 percent over the previous week, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said on Thursday. The Delta variant, which was first found in India, now comprises more than 80% of new cases nationwide and has been detected in more than 90 countries.
Florida is now recording more COVID-19 cases than any other U.S. state, as hospitalizations in some areas increase at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported, with the state accounting for one in five new infections in the U.S.
(Video: Octavio Jones, Production: Deborah Lutterbeck) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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