UPDATE: Florida's DeSantis faces renewed criticism over Covid-19 vaccination clinics in upscale communities

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Tue, 2021-03-02 16:20 — mike kraft

Florida's DeSantis faces criticism over Covid-19 vaccination clinics in upscale communities Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing bipartisan criticism and a call for a federal investigation after the state set up invitation-only Covid-19 vaccination clinics in at least two upscale communities. Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN CNN

(CNN) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing bipartisan criticism and a call for a federal investigation after the state set up invitation-only Covid-19 vaccination clinics in at least two upscale communities.

One prominent developer in two communities donated to DeSantis' campaign -- in amounts of $25,000 and $50,000 between 2018 and 2019 for a total of $125,000, according to campaign finance records.

The exclusive vaccine clinics allowed about 6,000 people to jump ahead of tens of thousands of seniors on waitlists in Manatee and Charlotte counties, where the drives happened.

"I'm an active Republican, so I'm a fan of the governor, but I think that this could have been done better," said Harvey Goldstein, a staunch Republican in Charlotte County.

DeSantis declined CNN's request for an on-camera interview for this story. Meredith Beatrice, the governor's director of strategic initiatives, sent an email to CNN saying, in part, "The insinuation that politics play into vaccine distribution in Florida is baseless and ridiculous."

Florida, where demand for vaccination has exceeded supply since the state started administering it in late December, is facing statewide vaccine distribution challenges. ...

Vanessa Baugh, chair of the Board of County Commissioners of Manatee County, revealed the origins of the vaccine drive at the Lakewood Ranch community after her emails, obtained by CNN and other media outlets through an information request, showed Baugh asked county workers to pull a list of potential vaccine recipients from only two ZIP codes who would then participate in a state-sponsored vaccine drive. ...

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