Florida's Republican governor accused of ‘playing politics’ with Covid vaccine

Florida Democrats have slammed the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, claiming that he is “playing politics” with Covid-19 vaccine distribution after a new pop-up vaccination site was set up in a wealthy area with predominantly white residents.

The pop-up vaccination site in Manatee county, just south of Tampa, was set to offer additional vaccinations for residents of two zip codes covering well-off neighborhoods, rather than residents across the county.

Related: US vaccine distribution: track your state's progress

“You’re taking the whitest demographic and richest demographic in Manatee county and putting them before everyone else,” the county commissioner Misty Servia, a Republican, said of the location at a meeting this week.

DeSantis defended the site, saying it had been chosen for the “high levels of seniors living in there” but following the criticism, he also threatened to send future pop-up sites to other parts of Florida.

“Threatening retribution and less vaccine access for communities that criticize the vaccine rollout for its problems is shameful and inhumane,” said Manny Diaz, who heads Florida’s Democratic party.

DeSantis’s controversial comments came during a vaccination event near the upscale retirement community of Lakewood Ranch. Before this event, the Bradenton Herald reported that Lakewood Ranch residents – and other wealthy neighborhoods in this part of Manatee county – would have special access to vaccines. These vaccines would be available to senior citizens aged 65 and over.

The newspaper reported that DeSantis had contacted Lakewood Ranch’s developer, offering to launch an exclusive vaccination for two postal codes in this area. Residents of these two postal codes comprise just 8% of Manatee county’s more than 30,000 known Covid-19 cases, the newspaper said.

The newspaper, citing US Census Bureau data, reported that the median income in both postal codes is more than twice the level for Manatee county overall.

“I chose those two zip codes because it is not just Lakewood Ranch but it’s part of Myakka City, Braden River and Rosedale,” said Vanessa Baugh, a county commissioner who took responsibility for the move. “Those two zip codes are huge areas that really encompass lots of the south-east area of Manatee county, which is what the governor wanted to do.”

Asked about criticism at a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis reportedly remarked: “If Manatee county doesn’t like us doing this, then we are totally fine putting this in counties that want it. We’re totally happy to do that.

“Anyone that’s saying that, let us know if you want us to send it to Sarasota or Charlotte or Pasco or wherever, let us know – we’re happy to do it,” DeSantis also said.

“There is no reason that Governor DeSantis should be rationing vaccines based on political influence. This is troubling and potentially illegal. Vaccines should be distributed to counties based on need, capacity and science,” the Florida agriculture commissioner, Nikki Fried, said in a statement.

“While I am disappointed in the governor using vaccines as a political tool, I plan on working with the Biden administration to ensure they do not penalize Floridians for his actions and continue to ramp up vaccine distribution to all communities, so that we can get our economy and state going again.”

The Florida state senator Annette Taddeo remarked that DeSantis owed Manatee county residents an apology.

“Veiled threats should not and cannot be tolerated by any public official,” NPR quoted Taddeo as saying.

DeSantis’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the press conference, however, DeSantis reportedly said that any more shots for seniors is positive. He also pointed out that the 3,000 extra jabs were in addition what Manatee county receives weekly from the state.

“It wasn’t a choice about zip codes,” DeSantis claimed. “It was a choice about where’s a high concentration of seniors where you can have communities provide the ability for them to go on. It wasn’t choosing one zip code over another. We go where the seniors are and try to knock it out.”