DeSantis bragging about Florida’s vaccination program upsets Nikki Fried

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis is the person in charge of Florida’s COVID-19 vaccination program, and he regularly praises the roll-out as a model for the nation, but the tens of thousands of Floridians who are struggling to get an appointment strongly disagree.

The governor likes to brag about ushering Florida’s seniors to the front of the line, but those lines have been long and appointments are hard to come by.

“If you look at what Florida has done, we have done by far the most for senior citizens,” DeSantis said.

Seniors with patience and luck have been getting their shots. Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, a Democrat, accused the Republican governor of mismanaging the vaccine distribution.

“This is not a positive roll-out ... Don’t call it a success,” Fried said.

Vaccinations next week in South Florida are iffy because there are no new shipments of vaccines scheduled. So far, in Miami-Dade County more than 100,000 people have been vaccinated, more than 77,000 in Broward County, and about 3,000 in Monroe County.

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About the Author:

Michael Putney came to Local 10 in 1989 to become senior political reporter and host of "This Week In South Florida with Michael Putney." He is Local 10's senior political reporter.