Ron DeSantis Remains on Long List of Republicans Undermining the Pandemic Response
Washington, DC – In his first press conference since the newest variant swept through his state, causing cases to explode in the final weeks of 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis downplayed vaccines and pushed treatments that remain unproven against the Omicron variant.
While President Biden works to increase vaccinations, promote boosters and testing, and end this crisis, Republicans like DeSantis continue to undermine the administration’s response by pushing misinformation, attacking masks and other safety measures, and going to court to stop vaccine mandates. Vaccinations, testing and boosters are essential in battling this latest wave of the Omicron variant, but Republicans like DeSantis are prolonging the pandemic and harming the economy in hopes of political gain.
“Governor DeSantis and other Republican leaders will stop at nothing in their attempts to undermine President Biden’s leadership at the expense of the health and safety of their constituents,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “As the Omicron variant ravages his state and Floridians needlessly suffer, Governor DeSantis and Republicans like him would rather continue their scare tactics and political games when science has shown us how to end this pandemic. Governor DeSantis and other Republican leaders know they should be encouraging everyone eligible to get tested, vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible, but instead choose to play politics with people’s lives. Shame on them.”
REPUBLICANS LIKE RON DESANTIS ARE PLAYING POLITICS AND ENDANGERING THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN LIVES
Republicans Are Downplaying The Important Of Boosters And Vaccines In The Fight Against Omicron
Palm Beach Post: DeSantis Badmouthed Vaccines While Pushing For Unproven Treatments Against Omicron. “In his first news conference since the omicron variant surged across Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis badmouthed vaccines while pushing for unproven treatments against the mutated pathogen. ‘With omicron, you know, the vaccinations are not preventing infection,’ DeSantis said Monday at Broward Health Medical Center.” [Palm Beach Post, 1/3/22]
CNN: Florida’s DeSantis Wants To Hand Out Taxpayer Dollars To Businesses That Defy Vaccine Mandates. “As Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, escalate their fight against President Joe Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, they are testing a new method to support resisters: giving taxpayer money to the unvaccinated. Florida is one of a handful of states that now ensures people who refuse the shot remain eligible for unemployment benefits if they lose their job over their stance. Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee have done the same. And DeSantis, one of the leading Republican voices against federal vaccine requirements, wants to go even further. He says his state may pay the fines of businesses that snub the federal vaccine mandate — and he’ll do it with coronavirus relief aid signed into law by Biden. ‘This is an important fight,’ DeSantis recently told business leaders. ‘And it’s a fight we’re happy to join.’” [CNN, 12/2/21]
Washington Post: Some Republican Leaders Are Scornful Or Silent On Booster Shots Seen As Key To Fighting Omicron. “The push for widespread booster shots to protect against omicron has highlighted the United States’ persistent partisan divides over vaccination, with some Republican leaders silent on the issue and some disparaging shots anew as the meaning of ‘fully vaccinated’ evolves along with the coronavirus. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said last week that he has no plans to get boosted, telling a reporter, ‘I’m perfectly healthy.’ A few days later, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee used their official Twitter account to spread false information, asking: ‘If the booster shots work, why don’t they work?’ The tweet was later deleted. And former president Donald Trump got booed recently after telling a crowd that he got an additional dose of the vaccines he considers great achievements of his administration.” [Washington Post, 1/4/22]
Florida Suffers While DeSantis Plays Politics With His Constituents’ Lives
Miami Herald: State Breaks Another Case Record, And Hospitalizations Are On The Rise. “Florida on Monday reported 85,707 cases and 61 new deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data. This is the largest multi-day increase of newly reported cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. The previous multi-day record was set during the height of the delta wave last summer when 56,036 cases were reported on Aug. 16.” [Miami Herald, 1/3/22]
An Overwhelming Majority Of COVID-19 Patients In Miami-Dade County Hospitals Are Unvaccinated.“Statistics from Miami-Dade County hospitals confirmed Monday that the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated — 79% of them, the county reported. Infections have exploded statewide.” [Palm Beach Post, 1/3/22]