Originally posted by Unregistered
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Meanwhile, DeSantis continues to completely f-up FL's vaccine rollout
Florida’s COVID vaccine rollout is more like a flaming ant farm, only less organized.
Day after day, millions of exasperated seniors armed with laptops, cell phones, iPads and tech-savvy grandchildren try to penetrate swamped local websites that fleetingly offer appointments.
Meanwhile, in the blue-sky parallel universe accessible only to the mind of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s distribution networks are humming along like well-oiled machines. The only problem is a shortage of vaccines....
As soon as the new administration began discussing the use of FEMA to set up mass inoculation sites, DeSantis curtly blew off the idea, saying we don’t need federal help in Florida; just send more vaccines!
A White House spokesman responded with interesting supply statistics that DeSantis had either overlooked, or hidden from the public — the state had administered only about half of the 3.1 million doses it had been sent.
Partnering with Publix pharmacies isn’t a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t hinder rural communities from receiving shipments of vaccines. But that’s what DeSantis is doing in Palm Beach County, a move that has surprised — and angered — many officials there.
He abruptly decided that 67 Publix stores would be the only source of vaccine for the county’s 1.5 million residents, bypassing not only the health department but minority farm communities with no nearby Publix and many elderly folks who don’t drive.
The mayors of Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay immediately wrote to DeSantis, urging him to reconsider his “unconscionable” decision. On Friday, the state decided to give some of the vaccines to two Palm Beach County health agencies to distribute them in areas not served by Publix.
It would be cynical to think DeSantis chose Publix because the company gave $100,000 to the Friends of Ron DeSantis political action committee last month. It would also be naïve to think it wasn’t a factor.
https://www.miamiherald.com/
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