Florida Gov. DeSantis accused of favoritism in distributing Covid vaccine, Congress urged to investigate
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks holding his facemask throughout a press convention to handle the rise of coronavirus instances in the state, at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, on July 13, 2020.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
Florida’s agriculture commissioner on Monday known as for a congressional investigation into Gov. Ron DeSantis over “alleged political favoritism” in his state’s distribution of Covid-19 vaccine doses.
Nikki Fried, the state’s Democratic agriculture commissioner, famous that at the least three “pop-up” vaccination websites have been “organized in wealthy communities affiliated with donors to the governor’s political campaigns.”
Fried, who’s lengthy been a staunch critic of DeSantis, requested Congress to investigate in a letter despatched Monday morning to Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., its rating Republican member.
“My office has received frequent complaints regarding the unequal distribution of vaccines,” Fried wrote in the letter, which was obtained by CNBC. She went on to accuse DeSantis of “inept distribution of vaccines at best, and corrupt political patronage at worst.” The letter was first reported on by Yahoo Finance.
DeSantis’ workplace didn’t return CNBC’s request for touch upon the allegations.
Fried cited information experiences of the three so-called pop-up vaccination websites. In the primary occasion, “DeSantis allowed politically-connected private developers to dole out the life-saving drug to residents of their upscale communities, bypassing systems set up to ensure equitable access to vaccines,” the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported.
Fried cited different experiences, too, of pop-up vaccination sites appearing in affluent neighborhoods reportedly linked to DeSantis’ donors.
“Given the numerous serious questions regarding the Governor’s impartiality and potential political corruption in distributing life-saving vaccine, I encourage your committee to initiate a congressional inquiry into Florida’s vaccine distribution procedures, including compelling the production any testimony, records and documents as you see fit,” she wrote.
Fried additionally despatched a letter to DeSantis on Monday morning, asking him to droop Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh from public workplace. Baugh, Fried wrote, is under investigation for allegedly “placing herself, friends and family on a VIP vaccine list.” Baugh additionally chosen her district, two rich ZIP codes, to obtain extra vaccine doses from the state, Fried wrote.
Baugh has apologized for what she called “a lapse in judgment,” in accordance to a press release obtained by TV station ABC7 WWSB. Baugh didn’t instantly return CNBC’s request for remark.
It’s the second time a Florida Democrat has known as for a federal investigation into DeSantis’ dealing with of the vaccine rollout. On Feb. 21, Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., sent a letter to the Department of Justice, asking it to investigate experiences that DeSantis has established vaccination websites “in select locations to benefit political allies and donors, over the needs of higher risk communities and existing county waitlists.”
Notably, each Fried and Crist have been named in information experiences as potential gubernatorial challengers to DeSantis.
“As reported by multiple news outlets, the Governor is setting up ‘pop-up’ vaccination sites to deliver doses to select communities,” Crist, one other longtime DeSantis critic, wrote. “The ZIP codes in question have the highest income levels and lowest COVID infection rates in the county.”
