Florida church vaccinates hundreds after 6 members die from COVID-19 in 10 days
Marina PitofskySix members of a Florida church died from COVID-19 within 10 days.
Now, Impact Church in Jacksonville has vaccinated more than 1,000 people in the community and is looking to calm congregants’ fears about coronavirus vaccines.
George Davis, a senior pastor at the nondenominal church, confirmed to USA TODAY that the church lost the six members over a 10-day span and that four of those who died were under 35.
Davis said another male member of the church died from COVID-19 just days ago. Everyone who died was unvaccinated.
The senior pastor noted that even though the church has about 6,000 members, "it's just been ripping our hearts apart.”
“Even those who didn't know them, just to know that they're part of the church community, has made it tough for all of us,” Davis said.
The church held a vaccine event Sunday in partnership with Duval County health officials and University of Florida Health to vaccinate 269 people. Impact Church noted in a Facebook post that 35% of those vaccinated were teenagers.
Davis told USA TODAY the church had experts from University of Florida Health come to the event to answer questions from people who had concerns about the vaccines.
But Davis noted that the church has taken on encouraging congregants to get vaccinated against COVID-19 because some community members “are just more comfortable with their church than they are with government entities, or even some medical entities.”
“We’ve been just encouraging people to be vaccinated. Not pushing it on people, not trying to shame those who are not vaccinated, but really just encouraging people that you can trust the shot. My family and I are all vaccinated,” Davis said.
This isn’t the first vaccination event Impact Church has held. The church vaccinated about 800 people in March at a similar event as COVID-19 vaccines became widely available in the U.S. To date, more than 1,000 people have been vaccinated at the church’s events.
Fact check:CDC didn't say COVID-19 vaccinated are 'superspreaders', vaccines failing
Florida has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks amid the spread of the delta variant.
As of Friday, over 12.1 million Floridians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, about 63% of the state's population ages 12 and older.
Davis told USA TODAY that as the virus spreads in Florida and across the country, the church has focused on making sure "that we get to a place where we stop fighting" COVID-19 vaccines.
“I think we so politicized it and made it such a polarizing subject that we're not getting much progress," he said. "My position is, within a religious community, I actually believe the vaccination is a part of the work of God.
“That's the reason why I feel very comfortable encouraging our people, 'Hey, follow the science.'”
