Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
More than 1.2 million Florida seniors have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; on Friday, the state launched a vaccine preregistration system to alert individuals when appointments are available in their area.
AARP Florida state director Jeff Johnson offered some praise for the rollout thus far, agreeing that DeSantis made the right call prioritizing Floridians over 65 and noting that the state is getting shots into arms more quickly than most other states.
Still, the appointment process has caused widespread frustration and stress, especially among seniors who are less mobile or technologically challenged.
Johnson said it doesn’t have to be that way.
“Pilot projects that deliver vaccines to homebound vulnerable Floridians and establishing pop-up vaccination clinics in underserved communities in partnership with local faith leaders offer opportunities to reach those left out by the current system when scaled up,” he said.
“Most of all, Florida is vaccinating people at a better-than-average pace. But as long as so many Floridians struggle with the basics of getting an appointment, those positives are not going to get attention.”
Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz said last week that the state plans on opening “30 more” vaccination sites at churches this week. Those sites have shown promise in getting the vaccine out, especially in minority communities.
Johnson continued, “AARP continues to believe that transparency and clarity are key to this major effort. We are advocating hard to ensure every older American who wants to get the vaccine can get it. This is an unparalleled opportunity for state and local governments to step up and provide the support, infrastructure, and resources needed to succeed in vaccinating millions of Floridians.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 1,695,300 FL residents (+5,600 since Sunday)
— 31,807 Non-FL residents (+130 since Sunday)
Origin:
— 13,845 Travel related
— 636,494 Contact with a confirmed case
— 18,841 Both
— 1,026,120 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 72,454 in FL
Deaths:
— 27,129 in FL
Evening Reads
“77 days: Donald Trump’s campaign to subvert the election” via Jim Rutenberg, Jo Becker, Eric Lipton, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Martin, Matthew Rosenberg and Michael Schmidt of The New York Times
“After the attack” via Christina Cauterucci of Slate
“Dozens of former Bush officials leave Republican Party, calling it ‘Trump cult’” via Tim Reid of Reuters
“Senate Republicans unveil $600B COVID proposal” via Burgess Everett of POLITICO
“Florida Democrats to back resolution removing Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Florida reports 206 coronavirus resident deaths, 5,730 new cases” via Richard Tribou of the Orlando Sentinel
“Florida’s coronavirus vaccine rollout reveals racial divide in Tampa Bay” via Allison Ross and Megan Reeves of the Tampa Bay Times
“Jeff Brandes, Jimmy Patronis highlight COVID-19 liability protections for health care community” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics
“‘I’m opening my brain to it’: Charlie Crist contemplates 2022 bid for Governor” via Janelle Irwin of Florida Politics
“Where did all the bellwether counties go” via Ryan Matsumoto of the FiveThirtyEight
“What Georgia can teach us” via Steve Schale for his blog
“Florida has wasted 0.1% of coronavirus vaccines, health department says” via Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times
“The gerrymander battles loom, as GOP looks to press its advantage” via Reid Epstein and Nick Corasaniti of The New York Times
“Will Weatherford’s football hero is now a Super teammate” via Joe Henderson of Florida Politics
“Hey, Olympic Committee! Why don’t y’all come on down to Florida? July is lovely here!” via Diane Roberts of The Florida Phoenix
“Senate panel approves measure renaming reef conservation area after Kristin Jacobs” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“We essentially asked them to MacGyver their way through a pandemic, at least the early parts.” — Sen. Jeff Brandes on the need for health care liability protections.
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