Orange County

‘I don’t see the point’: Some under 40 voice concerns over receiving COVID-19 vaccine

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Long-term care facilities are nearly COVID-19-free, and more than 71% of seniors have been vaccinated.

Orange County Health officer Dr. Raul Pino said, “We need to aggressively move into the younger segment of the population.”

But that’s easier said than done.

READ: Florida reports more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, 92 virus-related deaths

“There’s no guarantee that we can just go out and live our life normally again, without having to wear a mask,” said 32-year-old Marcos Marrero. “So, I don’t see the point (of) having to get the vaccine and continue to do the same thing.”

Channel 9 spoke with several people in their 30s and younger who do not want the vaccine.

Herbert Bedford, 31, is adamantly against it.

READ: ‘Really excellent news’: Moderna, Pfizer vaccines better than previously thought, study shows

“To me, I feel like it messes with your genetics, in which in the long term, I don’t know what effects that will do,” he said.

Pino said workplace PODS could help, as would employers incentivizing individuals to get vaccinated.

“If it did have something to do with my employment status, I will definitely consider it at that point,” Marrero said.

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Some believe requiring a vaccine passport for traveling could make a difference, but not for Bedford.

“It would just prevent me from using their business,” he said.

READ: Vaccine passports come with pitfalls, promise

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.