U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist unveiled a five-point plan seeking to improve Florida’s current vaccine rollout.
The initiative, coined “Successful Shots,” proposes a system counter to that currently being implemented by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has previously received criticism from Crist and others for the state’s vaccine distribution.
Under the Governor’s current plan, an individual is eligible to receive a vaccine if they are 60 years old or older, have a doctor’s note, are a health care worker or are a school teacher, firefighter or law enforcement officer 50 years old or older.
“I have some ideas on how the Governor can reverse his vaccine missteps and prioritize lives, fairness, equity and speed,” Crist said in a news release. “The COVID vaccines are the miracle we’ve been praying for to help turn the tide against the pandemic — saving lives and getting us back to normal.”
The plan brought by Crist seeks to address site underutilization by giving all Floridians the chance to wait in the general line for a vaccine, while creating a Fast Pass line so seniors and vulnerable groups get priority access.
The initiative would prevent what Crist deems “vaccine distribution abuse” by DeSantis by reserving pop-up sites for underserved communities only. DeSantis has faced extensive scrutiny for his vaccination pop-up sites concentrated in wealthy communities.
“States should be prioritizing seniors and the most vulnerable, while doing everything they can to get shots into as many arms as quickly as possible,” Crist said. “Instead, Floridians are seeing reports of empty and underused vaccine sites, a meaningless doctor’s note requirement, and Governor DeSantis’ donor-first pop-up scandal, and they are outraged. I don’t blame them.”
Crist’s plan also calls for expanded hours and prioritizes teachers and other critical workers. The plan would also “eliminate the Governor’s meaningless doctor’s note,” the plan states.
In case you’re wondering why Florida’s vaccine rollout isn’t working, why Floridians are still getting sick and dying, look no further than who is advising the Governor.
Florida deserves better. https://t.co/9uCOPxZsoa
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) March 18, 2021
Crist’s proposal follows a heated back-and-forth between the two since the start of vaccine distribution — all amid speculation from Crist about a potential 2022 run for Governor, a role he’s no stranger to. If the Congressman decided to run, the current Governor’s vaccination system would likely be a reoccurring topic in the race.
And Crist isn’t alone in his scrutiny.
In a letter from Florida’s 11 congressional Democrats to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, DeSantis is accused of favoritism in his implementation.
DeSantis has been clear in his defense, and rejects accusations of favoritism. “If Manatee County doesn’t like us doing this, we are totally fine doing this in counties that want it,” he said when a pop-up site launched in Lakewood Ranch serving just two wealthy zip codes.
Florida Politics reached out to the Governor’s Office for comment, but has not received a response.
This article first appeared at Florida Politics.
This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2021.