Nikki Fried

Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner at a press conference on Thursday called on the FBI to investigate Gov. Ron DeSantis regarding vaccine distributions throughout the state.

At the Capitol in Tallahassee, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried (D) accused DeSantis of prioritizing vaccine delivery to areas where large donations to his campaign originated from. At the conference, she asked the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit to investigate the matter.

“I will not stand by and let our vaccines be used as political gain and to go and to be auctioned to the highest bidders while so many of our Floridians are suffering,” Fried said.

As reported by the Miami Herald on Wednesday, Fried said there was first an $85,000 campaign contribution from 17 donors ($5,000 each) who lived at the Ocean Reef Club in north Key Largo, followed by a $250,000 donation by former GOP governor of Illinois, Bruce Raurner, also an Ocean Reef resident.

“Now, we’ve learned 1,200 of the residents of the wealthy enclave in January got vaccines while so many of our seniors were struggling to get on to websites, to get in lines, to get on to the phones,” Fried said. “We won’t stand for this. We must get to the bottom of this. The people of our state are expecting this.”

Fried also noted that DeSantis had his best fundraising month since 2018 in February ($2.7 million), the same month the vaccine rollout began. Fried said similar instances took place in areas in Sarasota County and Charlotte County.

“This is not a coincidence. This is not an accident,” Fried said, touting her time as a former public defender. “I know fact patterns. I’ve seen up close and personal crime.

“The fact pattern is simply just too clear to avoid — give campaign contribution big dollars, get special access to vaccines. If this isn’t public corruption, I don’t know what is.”

DeSantis at a press conference on Thursday morning called the Miami Herald story a “hit piece” and denied the accusations.

“That is not a site that we were involved in in the Keys,” DeSantis said. “What that was, was one of the South Florida hospital systems. (They) went to this community and vaccinated a bunch of the seniors.

“I think that’s great. I want seniors to get shots. I think they did a good job doing that, we just weren’t involved in it in any way, shape or form.”

DeSantis also noted in the early stages of the vaccine rollout, hospital systems were getting the majority of vaccine supply.

“If you’re 65 and up, I’m not worried about your income bracket, I’m worried about your age bracket. It’s the age, not the income, that shows the risk,” DeSantis said.

In response to the governor’s statement on the vaccinations coming from a hospital-run program, not the state’s, Fried said, “The governor needs to start taking responsibly for things that are happening. If we had a plan in place from day one, this would not be happening. If it is a hospital that is doing this, we still have to have a paper trail. How did it get to the hospitals? Who made this specific request? That’s why we’re asking for the investigation, because there’s a lot of unanswered questions and a huge amount of paper trail we need to be uncovering.”

In a series of Tweets Thursday morning, DeSantis spokesperson Meredith Beatrice said, “This was not a state supported senior community POD, nor was it requested by the Governor.

“Florida was the first state in the nation to prioritize seniors. The state has utilized a variety of approaches including walk-up, drive-thru, and faith-based initiatives to ensure access to all eligible Floridians, particularly in underserved communities. These efforts have resulted in Florida vaccinating over 50% of our senior population — the highest in the nation.

“It is important for all Floridians to get vaccinated, when eligible. Any effort to discourage seniors, who are most vulnerable to COVID-19, from receiving the vaccine is disturbing and wrong.”

By the Numbers

As of Thursday afternoon, there are 1,930,232 total cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Florida, an increase of 6,118 since FDOH’s last update Wednesday.

Test results reported to the Department of Health on Wednesday, March 3, resulted in a 5.37% positivity rate among 135,956 tests.

The state saw its highest daily percentage of positive patients on Dec. 29 when 22.75% percent of tests reported were positive among 62,303 tests.

The average positivity rate in new cases over the last week is 5.91%. Percent positivity rates in new cases have been over 5% since Oct. 29.

Of those testing positive, 80,338 Florida residents have been hospitalized at some point during their illness according to the state.

The death toll increased by 126 from Wednesday’s report, bringing the total number of deaths, both resident and non-resident, to 31,955.

According to the state, hospitalizations in Lee County, and statewide in Florida, make up 4% of all positive cases. Deaths statewide and in Lee County stand at 2% of positive cases.

On Dec. 27, 974 people were given the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine throughout the state according to FDOH. The total number of persons vaccinated as of Thursday throughout Florida was 3,258,997 with 126,151 being in Lee County. According to the state, 1,815,999 individuals have had their vaccine series completed, 66,151 of those being in Lee County.

In Lee County, 58,360 individuals (+167) have tested positive as of Thursday’s update.

Positive COVID-19 cases in the county have ranged from infants to a 103-year-old. Lee County saw its first two cases on March 7, when a man and a woman, each 77, tested positive. They had traveled to the Dominican Republic.

There have been 883 deaths in Lee County — an increase of six from Wednesday’s report.

As of Thursday afternoon, Lee Health had 60 COVID-19 patients isolated in system inpatient hospitals, including three new admissions and 18 discharges since Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Lee Health had a 12.5% positivity rate on COVID-19 tests processed through Lee Health Labs. This represents Lee Health results only, not Lee County as a whole. Hospital positivity rates tend to be higher as the tests are performed on patients seeking treatment for a health issue, not the general public that includes asymptomatic individuals.

A total of 5,261 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from Lee Health facilities since the beginning of the pandemic.

Census as of Thursday afternoon was at 91% of staffed operational bed capacity, with 4.5% of those being COVID-19 patients. Staffed operational capacity reflects the number of beds for which the hospital has adequate staffing, not the total number of beds within Lee Health hospitals. Overall bed capacity fluctuates hour to hour as the system discharges patients throughout the day who are ready to go home.

As of Thursday, 72% of ventilators and 9% of ICU rooms are available for use across Lee Health facilities.

As of Thursday, there were four COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 11 in the intensive care unit.

COVID-19 is a highly contagious viral disease. For most individuals, symptoms are mild. For a minority, the disease becomes a type of viral pneumonia with severe complications. Especially at risk are those who are older, those with underlying health conditions and the immune-compromised.

Officials strongly urge all members of the public who are at risk to remain at home so as to limit exposure. All others are urged to observe social distancing and to wear a mask for all public interactions.

For more detail on Florida resident cases, visit the live DOH Dashboard.

To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, visit the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control, visit the CDC COVID-19 website. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, visit the travel advisory website.

For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, contact the Department’s dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling 1-866-779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day. Inquiries may also be emailed to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.