Six members of a church in Florida, all of whom were unvaccinated, died of Covid-19 in less than two weeks, a pastor said.
The Rev. George Davis of the Impact Church in Jacksonville mourned the victims Sunday in a church service livestream.
"We've had now six members of our church over the course of a couple weeks now that have passed away from Covid," Davis said. "It has just absolutely ripped our hearts apart."
None of the victims were vaccinated, and four were healthy and under the age of 35, Davis said.
The pastor told NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa that the members' deaths have "definitely taken a toll" on the community and urged the public to get vaccinated.
The church hosted a Covid-19 vaccination clinic on Sunday — its second event since March when 800 people got their first dose, according to WFLA.
"All I know is my heart's passion is to help people that I'm called to serve, and do whatever I can to help see to it that they are in a healthier place," he said.
The second vaccination event came just days after Florida broke its record for new daily Covid cases. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state reported 23,903 new Covid cases on Friday — the third time that week that Florida surpassed its record of new daily Covid cases.
Covid hospitalizations in the state also increased at record-breaking levels for six consecutive days last week, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
About 49.6 percent of Florida's population has been fully vaccinated, according to NBC's vaccination tracker. That puts Florida slightly behind other large states like California (53.5 percent), New York (57.8 percent) and Pennsylvania (53.1 percent), but ahead of Illinois (49.1 percent) and Texas (44.5 percent).
