Nearly every elderly resident of an upscale community in the Florida Keys was vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-January, as the rest of the state struggled to obtain vaccines, the Miami Herald reports.
A community newsletter obtained by the Herald showed that the majority of the people aged 65 and over living in the Ocean Reef Club community had received vaccinations at the start of the new year.
The exclusive Key Largo community is home to many political donors, notably members of the Florida Republican Party who have given money to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Herald notes.
In the newsletter, management of the private community wrote that over a two-week span, more than 1,200 homeowners who qualified under the state’s order were vaccinated.
The newsletter also acknowledges the discrepancy between the Ocean Reef Club community residents’ vaccine access and that of other people aged 65 and over in the state.
“We are fortunate to have received enough vaccines to ensure both the first and second for those vaccinated,” the newsletter reads, according to the Herald.
“At this time, however, the majority of the State has not received an allocation of first doses of vaccines for this week and beyond, and the timing of any subsequent deliveries remains unclear.”
DeSantis has come under scrutiny over his vaccine distribution plan in recent months. He’s been accused of granting certain communities better access to the vaccine by allowing them to go through community organizations, including the Medical Center at Ocean Reef, instead of through local or state registration systems, according to the Herald.
The Sunshine State governor reportedly previously denied giving special treatment to particular communities.
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Florida Keys enclave, home to political donors, received COVID-19 vaccine as rest of state struggled https://t.co/031PRr6db3 pic.twitter.com/IoDvBm2sr2
— The Hill (@thehill) March 4, 2021
“Since @GovRonDeSantis started using the state’s vaccine initiative to steer special pop-up vaccinations to select communities, his political committee has raised $2.7 million in the month of February alone, more than any other month since he first ran for governor in 2018.”🤦🏻♀️😡
— Gwen Graham (@GwenGraham) March 4, 2021
I expect there was some palm greasing to steer my state’s vaccine supply to certain areas too. Probably happened in other states as well.
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