Editorial: Gov. DeSantis' dogmatic approach to COVID pandemic risks lives

We don't accept Gov. Ron DeSantis' explanation for up to 1 million COVID tests expiring and having to be thrown out on his watch. If he used his position to encourage testing, the tests wouldn't died on the vine and Florida residents' lives wouldn't be put at risk.

The governor's explanation, as reported by Politico: "It's Biden's fault."

"DeSantis argued that the stockpile resulted from a lack of demand in the latter part of 2021. He blamed the Biden administration for not granting extensions to keep the tests eligible — something it did in September for three months," Politico reported. (UPDATE: On Tuesday night, it announced another three months' extension.)

But, why wait for people to ask? Why not just distribute the tests? Why warehouse them in the middle of a pandemic, which is precisely when they need to be used to help people know if they must quarantine themselves and inform friends, family and colleagues who they might have exposed to the virus?

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As the omicron variant has swept across the state, Gov. DeSantis has been absent from the battle for weeks at a time. When he has emerged to make public statements or take action over the past two years, it has frequently been at odds with logical public health practices espoused not just in Washington, D.C. but worldwide.

Rather than press forcefully for residents to get vaccinated and re-vaccinated with booster shots, he pontificates on the ills of mandates. He undermines efforts of municipal governments, school boards, cruise lines and other private companies to step up and require shots and regular testing.

And while procuring monoclonal antibody treatments available for people who already are sick, he neglects to facilitate the preventative measures he should promote. This strategy proves even more unfortunate with the knowledge that those Regeneron treatments don't work against the omicron variant.

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The grudging admission that up to 1 million test kits expired came as new omicron cases reached record highs in Florida. In recent weeks, DeSantis has been alternately absent from public view or actively fighting “testing psychology,” arguing against universal testing while blaming the federal government for not doing enough to provide tests. The hypocrisy might get a pass if not for the deadly consequences.

As of Tuesday, 10,852 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Florida, up from less than 1,100 a month earlier. There were 227 children hospitalized with COVID in Florida, the most since August. The state's COVID cases per capita and in sheer numbers stand among the top two or three of all 50 states.

In Palm Beach County, the airborne pathogen infected 4.5% of residents, one of every 22, during the four weeks ended Friday, data provided by the state Health Department shows. That's 68,135 people.

This is time for leadership, not politics. When what you're doing isn't working, when your philosophy is losing to reality, it's time to reconsider your approach.

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On Tuesday, Florida's Democratic congressional delegation called on DeSantis to reverse course, "to embrace testing, vaccination and local control policies that more aggressively protect the health and well-being of Florida’s residents and businesses." In a public statement, they urged the governor to "vocally encourage vaccines and boosters and stop propagating vaccine and booster messages filled with doubt and indifference," and to drop his policy guidance that discourages wider testing.

They further urged him to reverse bills he signed in the November special session that restrict the ability of businesses and local governments to mandate vaccines or testing.

It would be more persuasive to our Republican governor, of course, if this message came from members of his party. If only. But until it does, the endurance of this pandemic rests on their shoulders, as well. We therefore urge our Republican lawmakers and governor to adopt a science-based approach more likely to put an end to this plague than ideology. Because, what you're doing now? It isn't working.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Gov. DeSantis needs to promote COVID-19 preventative measures