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Update: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to dismantle 60 Minutes’ attack against his vaccine distribution plan:
On Sunday night, CBS’s “60 Minutes” aired a truncated exchange between reporter Sharyn Alfonsi and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). In the deceptive hit piece, Alfonsi accused the Sunshine State’s governor of privatizing his state’s vaccine distribution in an attempt to reward large donors to his campaign.
Alfonsi claims the governor granted a vaccine distribution contract to the grocery chain Publix in exchange for a $100,000 donation to his political action committee. CBS and other establishment media outlets have proliferated the claims that DeSantis engaged in “pay-to-play” deals that directly combat the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations. Two weeks ago at a press conference near Orlando, DeSantis debunked her claims, reiterating that 90% of Florida seniors live within a mile and a half of a Publix.
Palm Beach County is home to 65 Publix grocer locations and is one of Florida’s most elderly counties. In 2018, the Florida Department of Elder Affairs projected that over 30% of Palm Beach County’s population are aged 60 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published that the risk for severe illness or death drastically increases with age, with seniors at the highest risk.
Publix issued the following response, vehemently condemning the allegations:
“The irresponsible suggestion that there was a connection between campaign contributions made to Governor DeSantis and our willingness to join other pharmacies in support of the state’s vaccine distribution efforts is absolutely false and offensive,” the chain said in a statement. “We are proud of our pharmacy associates for administering more than 1.5 million doses of vaccine to date and for joining other retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia to do our part to help our communities emerge from the pandemic.”
Further invalidating Alfonsi’s claims, Former Democratic State Representative Jared Moskowitz confirmed that the Florida Division of Emergency Management recommended Publix as the best-equipped pharmacy to tranche out vaccines.
@60Minutes I said this before and I’ll say it again. @Publix was recommended by @FLSERT and @HealthyFla as the other pharmacies were not ready to start. Period! Full Stop! No one from the Governors office suggested Publix. It’s just absolute malarkey. https://t.co/obkqYcbrzt
— Jared MASKowitz 😷 (@JaredEMoskowitz) April 4, 2021
Alternative media outlet The Daily Caller released the selectively edited “60 Minutes” excerpt, followed by the full response from DeSantis for context:
WATCH: CBS and @60Minutes excluded context from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in which he explains the steps his government took to make the decision to partner with Publix on vaccine distribution.
The 60 Minutes version is first, followed by the full answer from DeSantis. pic.twitter.com/2KRQKPLOe7
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 5, 2021
Starting Monday, all Floridians aged 16 and older are eligible to receive a vaccination:
Starting today, all Floridians who qualify under the FDA are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This includes 18+ for Moderna and J&J, and 16+ for Pfizer. Join the 6 million Floridians who have already been vaccinated and pre-register at https://t.co/Q6KhVWwoaX.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 5, 2021
