Jill Biden, Fauci Visit Tampa COVID Vaccination Site

FLORIDA — First Lady Jill Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci visited two COVID-19 vaccination sites in Florida Thursday to encourage people to get the vaccine.

The visit is part of a nationwide tour to promote President Joe Biden’s effort to have at least 70 percent of those eligible for the vaccine in the U.S. to get at least one shot by July 4, News 13 reported.

The pair made its first stop in Kissimmee at a drive-thru vaccination event at 1 p.m.

From there, they appeared at the “Shots On Ice” event hosted by the Tampa Bay Lightning and AdventHealth Tampa at the Amalie Arena. The event offered free first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as well as the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

According to Florida’s weekly COVID-19 report, nearly 10.7 million Floridians — or 56 percent of those eligible for the vaccine in the state — have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of July 17.

New York Times data shows that 44 percent of Floridians are fully vaccinated.

Nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now are in people who weren’t vaccinated, which shows how effective the shots have been and an indication that deaths per day — now down to under 300 — could be practically zero if everyone eligible got the vaccine, the Associated Press reports.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday that the vaccine is so effective that "nearly every death, especially among adults, due to COVID-19, is, at this point, entirely preventable.” She called such deaths “particularly tragic.”

"These trips are part of the Administration's nation-wide tour to reach millions of Americans who still need protection against the virus, highlight the ease of getting vaccinated, and mobilize grassroots vaccine education and outreach effort," the White House said in an announcement earlier this week about the first lady's visit to Florida.

With the July Fourth holiday approaching, the White House acknowledged this week that President Joe Biden will fall short of his 70 percent goal to have fully vaccinated 165 million adults by the holiday.

White House officials said they’re unconcerned. “We don’t see it exactly like something went wrong,” press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this week, stressing that Americans’ lives are still better off than they were when Biden announced the goal.

As of Wednesday, 65.6 percent of Americans age 18 and older had received at least one shot, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. The figure is expected to be over 67 percent by July 4.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.