Mayor says Orange County will ‘aggressively defend’ vaccine mandate in court after firefighter fired

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county will “aggressively defend” its COVID-19 vaccine mandate after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would seek legal action against the county.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced in a news conference with DeSantis on Thursday that the state would join a lawsuit filed by Orange County firefighters against the county over its vaccine mandate.

>>> CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE BRIEFING LIVE <<<

Demings defended the county’s mandate and the fire chief’s decision to fire Battalion Chief Stephen Davis after he failed to comply with disciplining firefighters over the mandate.

“We will aggressively defend our right to protect our citizens and our employees,” Demings said. “We’ll let the courts decide what was lawful or not.”

READ: DeSantis to take legal action against COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Video: Orange County COVID-19 positivity rate continues to decline Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county’s 14-day rolling positivity rate is continuing to decline, with it now clocking in at 5.37%. (Lauren Seabrook, WFTV.com)

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