POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is making a plea for people to get vaccinated after one of his deputies lost his battle with COVID-19.
“Deputy Christopher Broadhead is the poster child for a healthy person and a young person who died from COVID,” said Judd.
RELATED: Polk County deputy dies after battling COVID-19 in hospital for weeks
Sheriff Judd is preparing for the funeral of one of his own. Deputy Christopher Broadhead died this week, after battling COVID-19 for several weeks in the hospital.
Judd is not disclosing whether Broadhead was vaccinated but is concerned that not enough deputies have gotten the shot.
“When you go into these people’s home and you perform these heroic tasks every day that first responders do you, you never know when you’re going to have that direct exposure,” he said.
According to Judd, 52 Polk County Sheriff employees have COVID-19 with six in the hospital. One civilian employee is on a ventilator.
The Sheriff believes part of the vaccine hesitancy has to do with the virus being politicized.
“They need to pay attention to the science as we know it and their physician, and the physicians and the experts who spend years and years and years in college to learn how to save our lives," Judd said.
Judd is vaccinated and hopes the untimely death of Broadhead is motivation enough for all Polk County Residents to get the shot.
“Quit paying attention to the social media people who think they know what they’re talking about, and they don’t. Quit paying attention to the politicians who think they know what they're talking about but don’t,” he said.
