Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is very, very upset that anyone would suggest he's steering coronavirus vaccinations to populations that are most likely to vote for him. In fact, he's so hurt by the allegations of vaccine favoritism that he threatened this week to take vaccinations away from counties where leaders criticize him, and to move them where people are more grateful.
DeSantis made the threat Wednesday at an upscale, mostly white retirement community, Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County, after some Manatee County commissioners criticized DeSantis for selecting Lakewood Ranch for a three-day pop-up vaccination clinic that would only serve seniors from two affluent zip codes. The Bradenton Herald, which broke the story, very rudely pointed out that residents in those zip codes aren't just wealthy — with a median income nearly double that of the rest of the county — but that the neighborhoods also have a far lower COVID-19 infection rate than other parts of Manatee County. On the other hand, they tend to vote Republican, so you really need to take a balanced approach to keeping them happy.
The temporary vaccine site came about after DeSantis phoned Lakewood Ranch's developer, Rex Jensen, to suggest it would be really neat if Jensen would host a vaccination event to distribute some 3,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine. After some help from County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, a Republican who's close to DeSantis, the vaccination campaign was set up at the Premier Sports Campus, a county recreation facility in Lakewood Ranch. But other members of the county commission had questions about the decision. At a commission meeting Tuesday, Commissioner Misty Servia said,
