Miami-Dade Mayor urges residents to get COVID vaccines as hospitalizations rise

Today, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava released the following statement in response to a recent White House report indicating Miami-Dade and Broward counties are leading the nation in COVID hospitalizations.

“The situation is becoming as dire as it was last year, with hospitals reaching capacity, packed emergency rooms, and positivity rates in the two digits. The difference is that this year we have a solution ready with the COVID vaccine.

We are doing everything in our power to protect the safety of all our residents and visitors by continuing to ensure vaccines are widely available and requiring masks at County facilities. Local businesses are doing their part by urging employees to get vaccinated and requiring masks for everyone’s protection. Millions of residents of Miami-Dade have done their part by getting the shot. But the numbers are very clear: roughly nine out of every ten COVID patients at our hospitals are unvaccinated.

Now we call on all those who have yet to get the vaccine: please do so as soon as possible to protect yourself, your loved ones, and our community. We have come too far and sacrificed too much to turn back now, especially not when we have the solution in our hands.

Our economy is just beginning to rebound and it’s essential that we keep building on the progress we have made. We all must do our part to control the spread and to keep our loved ones safe and our community moving forward.”