Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hit back at White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday over what he claimed were “totally disingenuous” comments about the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines in The Sunshine State.
Psaki said the state only “distributed about 50 percent of the vaccines they have been given. So, clearly, they have a good deal of the vaccine, that supply will need to continue to increase as they are able to effectively reach people across the state."
DeSantis took issue with that “insinuation,” reminding the press secretary that “Florida is number one in the country among the top 10 most populous states for vaccine doses per capita.”
The governor said the leftover doses are being reserved for senior citizens’ second doses.
“If the implication is that we should be giving those second doses away to other people, that is not the way the FDA has prescribed the series,” he said.
The state also leads the nation in vaccination of seniors, he said.
Florida is the only state in the country to have more than 1 million seniors vaccinated – with more every day! #SeniorsFirst pic.twitter.com/MedHQS6iyW
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 26, 2021
"If we are given additional first doses, we are ready to double our output,” his statement continued, adding that the state is awaiting more doses from the federal government.
“We are committed to ensuring our seniors are the priority and get their second dose, and if the White House is suggesting that we shouldn’t be doing that, I don’t think that’s a good suggestion,” he concluded.
This morning I was asked to address recent comments from the White House about Florida’s vaccine allocation. Here is my statement ?? pic.twitter.com/imwvT67sRo
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 26, 2021