Governor says pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site in Lakewood Ranch the right choice

With East County senior residents being vaccinated behind him Wednesday morning at Premier Sports Campus, Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed back following a barrage of questions about his distribution of 3,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Lakewood Ranch.

DeSantis was being asked if his selection of the Lakewood Ranch area — specifically the 34202 and 34211 Zip codes — should be seen as a political favor because influential builders and developers in the area have supported him. He was asked if the distribution should have occurred in other areas of the county where the rate of those with COVID-19 has been higher.

"Would you rather us send it to other counties?" DeSantis asked the group of reporters. "If Manatee County doesn't want it, we're fine giving it to counties who do want it. But one reason we are doing this here is because the percentage of seniors getting the shots has been lower than the state average."

DeSantis' response came after he explained several times his choice of the Lakewood Ranch area was made because the state has been selecting "senior pods" in communities that quickly could help in the distribution of the vaccine. DeSantis stressed the 3,000 doses of COVID-19 were in addition to Manatee County's regular allotment he said could be distributed in any manner the county sees fit.

"This is not diverting from what the county is doing," DeSantis said. "This area (Lakewood Ranch and East County) has a high concentration of seniors. We have the logistics, but we need a lot of cooperation to get this done. Every senior pod we have done, the people have appreciated it."

DeSantis said the state has done similar "pop-up vaccination" sites in 15 other senior pods in the state. He said, besides the senior pods, the state has targeted other areas, such as 70 houses of worship.

After reaching out to Schroeder-Manatee Ranch CEO and President Rex Jensen about ideas for a pop-up vaccination site in Lakewood Ranch, DeSantis connected with Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh on Friday (Feb. 12). Baugh, who was out of town, got on the phone after DeSantis asked her to expedite the process since he wanted the vaccinations delivered Feb. 17-19.

Baugh made all the arrangements, such as the use of Premier, the help of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, and the use of the county's COVID-19 vaccination pool, by Monday (Feb. 15). The event was announced that day.

On Tuesday (Feb. 16) during a Manatee County Commission work session, Baugh was criticized for not bringing in other commissioners to organize the event.

"Am I happy to have 3,000 doses, yes," said Commissioner George Kruse on Wednesday at Premier. "What's been done is done.

"If we were able to self select (areas within the county to be vaccinated), there might have been better groups to select."

Kruse said by Tuesday when the issue was addressed during the Commission's work session, it was too late to reverse course.

"We're not going to call 3,000 people and tell them we changed our minds," he said.

Kruse said an emergency meeting of the commission could have been called within 24 hours.

Asked if he thought Gov. DeSantis was providing the 3,000 vaccinations as a political favor, Kruse he did not.

"Gov. DeSantis has a lot going on simultaneously," Kruse said. "I doubt someone donating $1,000 is going to affect his decisions."

Baugh said if the Governor asked her to set up another pop-up event, she would do it again.

"I'm not apologizing," she said.