JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A well-known activist and president of the Jacksonville Northside Coalition has tested positive for COVID-19.
Ben Frazier says he has been vaccinated for the virus and has avoided hospitalization. He and other city leaders are pushing for the public to get the vaccine to avoid becoming severely ill.
Notably, Baptist Health’s CEO wrote in a statement Tuesday that the percentage of its unvaccinated patients who have been hospitalized for COVID-19 has consistently stayed above 97% during the recent surge. He said its health network is seeing an “all time high” of COVID-related hospitalizations.
Florida and Southeast Georgia, according to the CDC, are currently considered “high transmission” for the virus.
The Jacksonville Civic Council has launched a campaign called Get The Facts Jax, hoping to put an end to the surge of infections and that more people will get vaccinated.
LINK: Jacksonville Civic Council launches website to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations
Former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney is heading up the Council.
“It isn’t really about, necessarily, even you getting the infection and getting sick ... But it’s about passing it on to your parents, to your kids, to your grandkids to your neighbors. And it’s having a severely negative impact on Jacksonville,” Delaney said.
Frazier said in a statement:
“All the suspicion falls to the wayside when you or someone you love is having trouble breathing because of COVID.”
“It is a little frightening to see people that are vaccinated not only come down with COVID,” Delaney said. “But I think it reiterates the reason that we really need to try to get everybody vaccinated because that stops the spread.”