At QPAC, Ron DeSantis Touts Florida’s Corrupt Vaccine Rollout As a Model for the Nation

At QPAC this morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis advertised his state as a model for handling the pandemic, saying “Florida got it right.”

In MAGA fantasyland, that might be true, but in reality, DeSantis has politicized the distribution of the state’s limited vaccine supply, allowing his political allies and those in affluent communities to jump the line.

DeSantis has been setting up pop-up clinics at wealthy retirement communities, favoring campaign donors and political power players over those who need vaccines the most. For instance, a clinic was established at Lakewood Ranch, a mostly white, affluent retirement community in Manatee County. Lakewood Ranch’s parent company is a DeSantis campaign donor. DeSantis reportedly struck a deal with the company’s CEO, Rex Jensen, to host a vaccination clinic in Lakewood, provided DeSantis only offer the vaccines to people living in two of the wealthiest zip codes in the county.

DeSantis said he doesn’t “understand the accusation” that the vaccine distribution is politically-motivated, and threatened to pull vaccines from counties that criticize him. He hinted at QPAC that he’s unlikely to reverse course when he’s done something wrong: “Stand your ground… Don’t ever, ever, back down.”

“At QPAC, unicorns are real, Fox News tells the truth, the democratic election was rigged, and Florida ‘got it right’ on the vaccine rollout,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Let’s get back to reality – Ron DeSantis is purposely directing vaccines towards the wealthy and powerful when he could be vaccinating seniors, teachers, vulnerable populations, and frontline workers. Leaders should be making decisions based on what’s best for public health, not their own politics.”