COVID-19 They listened for Florida’s COVID news and the often combative and controversial (masks-or-no-masks, lockdowns-orno-lockdowns, vaccine-or-no-vaccine) comments of Florida’s feisty Governor Ron DeSantis. In the rough-and-tumble ring of public opinion, the governor’s disdain and dismissal of many early but gloomy 2020 pandemic projections, as well as his blunt and outspoken COVID positions and decisions were like a heavyweight boxing match: sparring about public health, the pandemic’s spread, the impact on Florida’s economy and dealing with public anxieties. Throughout the fight, the pugnacious 42-year-old, Yale- and Harvard-educated governor floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee, took a lot of hits and provoked his share of cheers and jeers while landing quite a few bold and potent uppercuts of his own. His defiant anti-lockdown-and-no-masks (eventually, masks-optional) stance. His early and unswerving 65+ vaccination priority. Florida’s unexpected deadly summer surge, which caused some temporary lockdowns, followed by accusations that DeSantis lifted the lockdowns too prematurely. And his recent ban of a vaccine passport for Florida businesses − were triggers for derisive feedback. And then, the momentum of public opinion shifted to positive. The somewhat prickly public opinion scorecard is now declaring the gutsy Florida governor a winner by a somewhat controversial TKO. “Everyone told me I was wrong,” he recalls about the early pushback. “I faced continued pressure from radical politicians and some media, but I refused to back down. It’s now clear. Florida got it right. For age 65 and up, which is where we focusedmost of our efforts protecting our seniors, there are 40 states that have higher per capita COVIDmortality for seniors than Florida. More than two-thirds of all the state’s seniors have received doses of the vaccine. “The facts are, if you are a senior, you were less likely to die with COVID in Florida than you were in California, even though they are the quintessential lockdown, drag-out, close schools and close businesses state.” At the core of DeSantis’ COVID crusade was Florida’s adamant rejection of business and school lockdowns. Aside from reacting to last summer’s sudden surge and worries about hospital capacities, Florida has not mandated anybusiness lockdowns or school closures. “Lockdowns and school closures have not worked!” DeSantis said with passion. “They’ve done great damage to our country. We still have millions of kids across this country who are denied access to in-person education, many businesses closed in many parts of this country and millions and millions of lives destroyed. Florida took a different path and we’ve had more success as a result. 44 | www.snowbirds.org
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