- This week, Florida said it will maintain a vaccine clinic in Manatee County.
- Critics noted that the clinic would only serve residents of two CEPs who tend to be wealthy and Republican.
- “If Manatee County doesn’t like us to do that, then we are totally fine with putting it in the counties that want it,” said DeSantis on Wednesday.
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When Florida announced plans this week to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in Manatee County, critics – including local Republicans – were quick to point out that it would bypass the state’s lottery system and serve only some of the wealthiest, white residents. and conservatives.
Dotted with questions about the plan on Wednesday, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis retaliated, saying the county could take it or leave it.
“If Manatee County doesn’t like us to do that, then we are totally fine with putting it in the counties that want it and we are totally happy to do that,” said DeSantis, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Florida Democrats were quick to attack.
“Threatening retribution and less access to the vaccine for communities that criticize the vaccine launch for its problems is shameful and inhumane,” Florida Democratic Party President Manny Diaz said in a statement, accusing DeSantis of playing “favorites” .
But the division over the distribution of the vaccine in the state is not strictly partisan.
On Tuesday, a fight broke out between Manatee County commissioners over the governor’s plan, which is to maintain a three-day clinic in the planned community of Lakewood Ranch in southwest Florida, said the local CBS affiliate WTSP.
The governor himself sought out the community developer to set up the clinic, according to the Tampa Bay Times. But Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said it was her idea to limit the distribution of 3,000 vaccines to residents of two specific zip codes – those who, compared to others in the county, have been spared the worst of the pandemic.
Commissioner Misty Servia was one of several Republicans to step back. “It compromises our system. It pits people against each other,” she said. In particular, Servia said this contributes to the idea that Manatee County has “a racism problem”, noting that the chosen postal codes represent “the whiter demographic group, the wealthier demographic group in Manatee County, and puts them ahead of everyone else. “
The social justice of vaccine distribution is not a conversation limited to Florida. Although black Americans account for 12.2% of all coronavirus cases and 14.9% of all deaths, only 6.2% received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. United States diseases.
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