Lombardi trophy on display at COVID-19 pop-up vaccination clinic

TAMPA, Fla. - In an attempt to increase vaccination rates across the Bay Area, several pop-up vaccination clinics were held on Saturday, just days before the start of a new school year. 

This week, Florida saw a major surge in COVID-19 cases, reaching a single-day record high of more than 23,000 new cases on Saturday.

"Take the advantage of being vaccinated. Not only do you help yourself, but you save others that you come in contact with," Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers said.

So far in Florida, more than 51 percent of people have been fully vaccinated. In Hillsborough County, that number sits at about 47 percent. To bring that number higher, Commissioner Myers teamed up with the Florida Department of Health and Tampa Police to host a special vaccine pop-up event at New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa. 

READ: Masks mandatory for Hillsborough County students, parents can opt-out

"With school starting now. This is an incentive for parents to come out so their child can be vaccinated," Myers explained.

Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at least 65 people came through to get vaccinated, including about a half-a-dozen school-aged kids.

As a way to bring people in, the Bucs organization offered up the Lombardi trophy, putting the symbol of Super Bowl glory on full display as people waited to get their shot. 

Die-hard Bucs fan Sharri Hall, her husband and their friends, all have season tickets. She says she didn't want to be the only person in their group that wasn't vaccinated.

"I didn't want to potentially be responsible for anyone getting sick and thinking that I am the cause of it even though I consider myself very healthy I know that anyone can be a carrier," Hall shared.

According to a new study from Imperial College London, fully vaccinated people are half as likely to be infected with the delta variant compared to those who aren't vaccinated. Researchers also found three times as many unvaccinated people tested positive for COVID-19 than those who had been fully vaccinated.

"To everyone that needs to be vaccinated, please consider it to protect others," Myer said.

Pop-up vaccines sites also opened up in Gulfport and Sarasota Saturday. 

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