Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced the re-launch of the Be SMART Florida statewide COVID-19 consumer awareness campaign. Be SMART & Get Vaxxed Florida is an update to the Department’s public awareness campaign reminding all Floridians to take common-sense actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and its variants.
The initial campaign, launched by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) in August 2020, highlighted the need for Floridians to look out for each other, follow scientifically proven measures that limit community spread, and protect against COVID-19. The updated campaign includes taking advantage of free COVID-19 testing and the FDA-approved vaccines that are safe, effective, and free – whether that be a first, second, or booster dose – which have been scientifically proven to provide fully vaccinated individuals a high degree of protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
SMART is an acronym for:
S: Social distance when indoors.
M: Mask up when unable to social distance.
A: Always wash your hands.
R: Remember to throw away disposable protective equipment.
T: Take advantage of free COVID testing and safe & effective vaccines.
Through this consumer awareness campaign, Commissioner Nikki Fried is asking all Floridians to do their part, take necessary precautions to save lives, and help our most vulnerable through these uncertain times: “We can keep our economy open and thriving and our communities safe if we work together — so let’s Be SMART & Get Vaxxed, Florida!”
These common-sense steps are crucial to slowing COVID-19; a World Health Organization-backed study showed that the spread of COVID-19 is reduced by up to 85% through wearing masks and up to 82% by social distancing. More information including the social media toolkit and sample videos and graphics can be found at FDACS.gov/SMART.
FDACS is Florida’s state consumer protection agency, responsible for handling consumer complaints, ensuring food safety at grocery stores, markets, and convenience stores, protecting against unfair and unsafe business practices, and more. FDACS handles over 400,000 consumer complaints and inquiries annually, oversees more than 500,000 regulated devices, entities, and products like gas pumps and grocery scales, performs over 61,000 lab analyses on products like gasoline and brake fluid, performs nearly 9,000 fair ride inspections, and returned over $2.8 million to consumers through mediations with businesses last year.
