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Vice President Kamala Harris Visits Detroit: Speaks About Voting Rights, COVID-19 Vaccines

(CBS DETROIT) - Vice President Kamala Harris visited Michigan on July 12 for the first time as vice president, where she held an event discussing voting rights and Covid-19 vaccination rates.

The event was held at the TCF Center in Detroit at began around 2:30 p.m.

U. S. Representative Rashida Tlaib opened the event, followed by Representative Brenda Lawrence. Both shared remarks encouraging people to "get the shot," referring to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mayor Mike Duggan then talked about what Detroit did to fight COVID-19, including setting up testing centers and committing to social distancing. Along with this, he applauded Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her leadership during the pandemic.

He explained that the city of Detroit has less than 40% of residents vaccinated and that there are many ways for people to get their vaccines now before flu season happens and more people start to get sick again.

Lt. Gov. Gilchrist spoke next, followed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Both focused on speaking about the conversations that Detroiters can have with friends and family about receiving the vaccine.

Whitmer shared that 62% of residents in Michigan have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and said, "We have more work to do, so how many conversations are you going to have," with the crowd responding with "As many as it takes."

Then, Harris took the stage.

She explained the delta variant is no joke and said, "virtually every person in the hospital sick with COVID-19 is unvaccinated." After saying this, she said, "It's a fact," and then also added that virtually every person who died recently from COVID-19 was unvaccinated.

Throughout her speech, she encouraged individuals to talk to their friends and family about getting vaccinated and said, "By getting vaccinated, you are loving your neighbor."

Harris closed the event by saying, "In the spirit of resilience, lets us rise up Detroit, let us rise up Michigan, lets us rise up America, and let us end this pandemic.

To view the video of the full event, visit here.


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