The pandemic may be over, but Sumter County commissioners revisited it Tuesday night, approving a resolution asserting the right to make individual health decisions.
About 50 supporters attended and showed their support when County Chairman Craig Estep asked those who favored the resolution to stand.
Critical of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), the resolution also stated that the federal government was “in conflict with the right of citizens to retain their freedom of choice” by mandating COVID vaccinations for federal employees. The vaccines “did not complete the required trials,” according to the resolution.
The resolution, which carries no legal authority, asserted the rights to refuse a health directive by WHO or WEF, to be “free from fear” when making health decisions and for free movement in Sumter County without a vaccine or health passport.
In Sumter County, 109,655 people or 85 percent of the population were reported fully vaccinated in December 2022, according to COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker.
More than 270 million people or 81.4 percent of the U.S. population received the COVID vaccine while more than 220 million people received a second dose. In Florida, 82.9 percent of the population or 17.9 million people received the vaccine.
Through July 2023, Sumter County had 30,822 reported COVID cases and 284 deaths. In the United States, 103,436,839 confirmed COVID cases and 1,127,152 deaths were reported through Aug. 8.
Worldwide, 768,982,331 confirmed cases and 6,953,730 deaths have been reported.
