“The sole Democrat elected to statewide office in Florida is calling on the U.S. House of Representatives coronavirus committee to investigate the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, for ‘alleged political favoritism’ in coronavirus vaccine distribution. That call comes in a letter that Florida’s agriculture commissioner, Nikki Fried, will send on Monday morning to Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who heads the coronavirus committee, and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, its ranking Republican member. The letter was obtained by Yahoo News over the weekend. ‘My office has received frequent complaints’ about the state’s vaccine strategy, Fried writes, charging DeSantis with ‘an inept distribution of vaccines at best, and corrupt political patronage at worst.'”

“It is the second such call, coming days after Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., asked the Department of Justice to investigate DeSantis on much the same grounds. Crist’s letter, sent on Feb. 21, alleged that DeSantis, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, ‘is establishing vaccine distribution and administration sites in select locations to benefit political allies and donors, over the needs of higher risk communities.’ Crist and Fried are both potential gubernatorial candidates, making their requests for an investigation impossible to separate from politics. Then again, the pandemic has been hounded by politics from the start. It may just be that the politics in Florida are more bare-knuckled and consequential than they are in most other places. Fried, one of DeSantis’s most unstinting critics, told Yahoo News that “Florida’s vaccine distribution has been chaotic and without a plan. It’s been inequitable, with Black and Hispanic residents left behind. And it’s been corrupt, with the Governor’s donors and political allies getting special access.’ ‘The message is clear,’ she said. ‘If Ron DeSantis likes you, or if you give his campaign money, you can cut in line ahead of seniors, teachers, and essential workers. It’s despicable and it needs to stop'” – Yahoo News.