- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has faced criticism about the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in his state.
- A wealthy community was vaccinated in January while the rest of the state struggled, the Miami Herald reported.
- One resident, former Illinois governor Bruce Rauner, donated $ 250,000 to DeSantis a month later.
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Almost all eligible residents of a gated community in the Florida Keys were vaccinated in mid-January, while the rest of the state struggled to get the doses, the Miami Herald reported.
The Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo vaccinated almost all of its residents aged 65 and over, according to a January 22 email newsletter reviewed by the Herald.
“We are fortunate to have received enough vaccines to guarantee both the first and the second for those vaccinated,” said the newsletter, acknowledging that most of the state was in a very different situation. “At the moment, however, the majority of the state has not received an allocation of the first doses of vaccines for this week and beyond, and the timing of any subsequent deliveries remains uncertain.”
The Herald’s report came amid constant criticism of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who was accused of favoring the distribution of vaccines by supplying them to wealthy communities.
Ocean Reef Club residents include wealthy political donors. High-level people, including President Joe Biden, stay there when they visit the keys.
Seventeen Key Largo residents donated to DeSantis and they all live on Ocean Reef, according to the Herald. A resident made a large donation about a month after the community was vaccinated.
Bruce Rauner, the former Republican governor of Illinois, donated $ 250,000 to DeSantis on February 25, the Herald reported.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
DeSantis defended his vaccine distribution plan in February, after local officials expressed concern about opening a vaccination center in Manatee County that would meet postal codes considered rich, white and conservative. Critics said the plan would bypass the state’s lottery system.
But DeSantis said the area was chosen based on the high concentration of elderly people.
“We saw a need. We want to increase the number of elderly people,” said DeSantis during a news conference on February 17. “If Manatee County doesn’t like us to do this, then we are totally fine with putting it in counties that we want and we are totally happy to do that.”
Questions were also raised about at least one other vaccine clinic in a prime area, CNN reported.
A clinic in Charlotte County invited residents of wealthy resort-style neighborhoods to be vaccinated, ignoring other seniors on the county waiting list who did not live in these communities, according to CNN.
CNN reported that major donors to DeSantis also lived in communities that were invited to be vaccinated.