A poor, rural community’s COVID-19 vaccinations are being hijacked by its rich, white neighbors in Florida.
STAT News reported that the small farming community of Pahokee in Palm Beach County hosted vaccine drives– meant for its 60% Black and 33% Hispanic residents. However, many of the COVID-19 vaccinations have gone to the privileged and racist assholes from affluent communities, like West Palm Beach, Miami and Stuart, the news outlet reported.
According to the publication, Palm Beach County Black and Latino population are– 18 and 27%, respectively, the two groups were administered less than 5% of the coveted vaccine as of March 1.
“It’s frustrating. But it’s the state’s decision not to allow us to do an appointment system at this location. It was their decision to make this first-come, first-serve,” Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, a Democrat, told STAT.
McKinlay and Tammy Jackson-Moore, the Glades nonprofit’s Guardians’ co-founder, only learned details of the first vaccination drive the night before the event.
Florida Governor Ron De Santis, Fl.-R, did not designate that Pahokee residents be the first receivers of the vaccination. Ironically, Publix donated $112,500 to De Santis’ re-election campaign. The Southern-based supermarket chain also carries and distributes the Moderna vaccine. The governor maintained that had no bearing on his decision.
Anybody who arrived at the vaccination drive– got it. Unlike other Florida counties like Orange, where residents have to register– Palm Beach County was a free-for-all.
According to STAT, Levis Bouffard and Mario Bureau were informed of the vaccine drives by a friend who warned them not to share the information, so the supply did not run low. The Boynton Beach pair even copped vaccines for their wives who did not meet the over-65 age requirement.
Pahokee residents are spreading the word to other community members to ensure they get the COVID-19 vaccine also.
“I don’t think there was much promotion,” said Pahokee resident Michael Assam told the publication. He texted his friends the information.
Related Story: A Mississippi Middle School’s Sorry Recollection Of Slavery Called For Students To Write About Their “Workday”
A 70-year-old Pahokee man was finally able to get a vaccine after being confused by Publix’s registration system.
“I would have taken it as soon as I could have,” he said. “But I’m computer illiterate. A lot of people don’t have a computer and don’t have someone who can do that for them.”
Palm Beach County isn’t the only place De Santis’ alleged favoritism for rich white folks has reared its head.
According to WESH-Orlando, the incompetent politician came under fire again after the Miami Herald published a story detailing those wealthy DeSantis donors in the Florida Keys were given first-dibs on the vaccine.
The Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried has called for an FBI into the governor’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution practices.
“If this isn’t public corruption, I don’t know what is,” WESH reported Fried said. “I will not stand by and let our vaccines be used as political gain and to go to be auctioned by the highest bidders while so many of our Floridians are suffering.”
The governor responded to the accusations.
DeSantis expressed, “I’m not worried about your income bracket. I’m worried about your age bracket because it’s the age, not the income, that shows the risk.”
Congressman Charlie Crist also pushed for a Department of Justice investigation against DeSantis last week, WESH reported.
“Our governor, just as the vaccines were being rolled out, he had his best fundraising month since 2018: $2.7 million in February. This is not a coincidence,” said Fried.
The governor weighed in on the recent accusations at a Thursday morning news conference.
“The Miami Herald article was a train wreck,” he said. “That was not a site that we were involved in in the Keys. What that was was one of the south Florida hospital systems went and went to this community, vaccinated a bunch of seniors. I think that’s great. I want seniors to get shots. I think they did a good. We just weren’t involved with it in any shape or form.”
We aren’t buying it.
