Florida, Center of COVID Mandate Resistance, Has Lowest Infection Levels in U.S.
By: Khaleda Rahman (Newsweek)
Go figure..............
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
U.S.FloridaCoronavirusVaccineRon DeSantis
Florida's coronavirus case rate has dropped to among the lowest in the country as the state's Republican leaders continue to fight vaccine mandates and other measures to combat the pandemic.
The state currently has the lowest count of cases per capita, jointly tied with Georgia and Hawaii at 7 cases per 100,000 people, according to data from The New York Times.
In contrast, California—a state that has enforced some of the strictest mandates in the country, has seen infections on the rise. Experts have explained that states that saw large outbreaks driven by the Delta variant over the summer now see fewer avenues for the virus to spread, thanks to greater numbers of people acquiring immunity after recovering from infections plus those who are vaccinated.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waits to present a check to a first responder during an event to give out bonuses to them held at the Grand Beach Hotel Surfside on August 10, 2021 in Surfside, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Around 60 percent of Florida's residents are fully vaccinated, while California—the nation's most populous state—has fully vaccinated 63 percent of its population.
Still, Florida's lower infection rate is striking due to the state's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis waging a fierce campaign resisting vaccine mandates and other coronavirus measures, earning him greater prominence in the Republican Party.
On Monday, Florida Republicans announced a new set of proposals that include measures that would let workers opt out of vaccine mandates and allow parents to sue school districts with mask mandates.
Dubbed the "Keep Florida Free" agenda, DeSantis and the GOP leaders of the state House and Senate detailed their agenda ahead of a special session meeting of the legislature on Monday.
"At the end of the day we want people to make informed decisions for themselves, but we've got to stop bossing people around," DeSantis said. "We've got to stop the coercion, we've got to stop trying to browbeat people."
State Republicans are also pushing to withdraw Florida from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which recently issued a new COVID-19 vaccine requirement for employees at businesses with 100 workers or more.
The rule, set to go into effect early January, has already prompted legal challenges from more than two-dozen Republican-led states, including Florida, according to the Associated Press.
It comes after a prominent Florida newspaper denounced DeSantis' attempts to take credit for the state's declining coronavirus cases.
In an op-ed in late October, the editorial board of the Orlando Sentinel slammed DeSantis as a "fraud" and a "phony" after the governor's office claimed the recent decline in cases was due to DeSantis' "leadership and our data-driven approach free of mandates."
"With numbers finally falling, DeSantis now has the gall, the nerve, to take a victory lap," the newspaper's editorial board said. "Florida led the nation in case rates for much of the summer, and our governor was silent. Well, not totally silent. He did rail against mask and vaccine mandates, measures intended to prevent people from falling ill."
It concluded: "Now, the do-nothing governor is trying to claim credit for this surge coming to an end. It is DeSantis' final and most essential command—to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. How Orwellian."
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Ripped right through those high rates and now, herd immunity possibly?
Makes you wonder who the smart ones were/are.
He was right from day 1 on protecting nursing homes & the most vulnerable.
That's what leadership looks like!
There are many mask mandates in Florida. I see that DeSantis didn't tell Disney, Walmart and Publix to stop their mask mandates for their employees.
Florida ranks 8th in covid cases per 100K at 17,233.
California ranks 39th in covid cases per 100K at 12,555
Florida ranks 8th in deaths per 100k at 231
California ranks 33th in deaths per 100k at 184.
California's latest infection rate is 12.5 per 100K
I'm not so sure that a governor would have the authority to do that. I'm not a lawyer and I didn't spend last night at a Holiday Inn Express so I won't even bother to go further but I'm not sure he could stop their mandates.
But I'm very conflicted on the mask mandate.
Yes wearing a mask if you are unvaccinated and potentially infected can reduce the impact of you spreading the virus to others. It won't prevent it but it can reduce the potential. And when around others who are not vaccinated, doing what we can to reduce the spread is generally a good thing.
But I'm very bothered by the political theater of all of this. Even in states / areas where mask mandates are in place for everybody we continue to see reporting of those "high & mighty" leaders who get caught in situations not wearing the mask when it is mandated. It's very tiring to hear the excuse that we should not look at a single moment in time as a gotcha moment but listen to the over-arching reasoning.. But then we the little people get hammered if we're caught with a mask that has slipped to expose the nose. Hell, school children in SF are being told they must wear their mask between taking bites of their food or drink... There is so much useless theater around all of this that it's difficult to believe any of it any more...
DeSantis tried it with the cruise lines and lost.
I thought the battle he lost there was over a vaccine mandate for passengers , not a mask mandate.
He tried a vaccine mandate for employees as well.
Actually I don't wonder who the smart ones are.
The smart ones vaccinate and mask.
You are correct............if they so choose.
If the choose not to.....they ARE NOT smart ones.
And THAT is not my problem nor is it yours.
The unmasked and unvaccinated are EVERYBODY'S problem!
Only to other unmasked and unvaccinated. If you have a mask and are vaccinated, you have very little to worry about. All you can do is your part. You can bitch and piss and moan all you want to but they don't have to do what they don't want to when it comes to vaccines. The mask is a no brainer and pretty damned easy so yeah, they aren't so smart. Still not my problem. I and mine are all protected and I had a severe case last April so I should have active immunity as well as the vaccine. Still don't know why the anti vax but it takes all kinds to make a world I've been told
It IS the problem of anyone they transmit COVID too however, and their friends, family, associates, etc., etc., etc.
Do you believe in protecting other human beings?
If you saw someone in trouble and what they needed would cost you nothing, would you help them?
But if they, friends family etc., are masked up and have the vaccine, what are they worried about? Supposedly if you get it and have had the vaccine, your chances of a severe case are pretty slim from what I understand.
Look, I got vaxxed, and so has everyone I know. I cannot coerce anyone or force them to get it. And if they want to die, no Kevorkian needed.
Yes. But that's me. And that's what I did. I did my part to ensure I don't get it..........again........nor will I hopefully get a passive case and pass it on.
Big "IF" there. You would think that a person, a human being, would want to protect their loved ones
So you are no fan of being in a society. Okay...
I do. What did you miss in my post 1.3.9?
See you're up to your usual "pull a statement out of your ass and attribute it to someone else" games. Not interested. And didn't say or imply that except in your own mind.
Do you think I was talking about you? This discussion was about the idiots in Florida that refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated. I do not agree with many of your beliefs, but you did the right thing for your family, friends, and anyone else you interact with.
Being a "member" of society means you interact with and have certain responsibilities in regards to other members of that same society. Your comment indicated that you would not go out of your way if someone else in your society was doing something detrimental to their life. However, if you obey the traffic laws, then you are doing something where if someone wants to die by car crash, you are working against their wish making it more difficult.
California is now the most infected state. The tail of the two tapes, One Governor solved the problem, the other is the problem.
Shhhhhhh.......don't tell anyone!
The infection rate per 100,000 in California is actually low compared to many other states.
This piece states that the reason Florida has low numbers is because of the governor fighting against mandates and protocols.
Do you actually believe that?
People believe DeSantis caused a surge in summer. If you blamed DeSantis for a surge, consistency would demand crediting him for the lowest infection rate.
So I will take that as a yes...
You could, but you'd be wrong. I follow reality, not political expediency.
Just pointing out the hypocrisy of the blame DeSantis crowd. What asses they made of themselves, huh?
So state it. Do you believe he is the reason or not. Yes or no.
Florida currently has the 8th highest infection rate in the country; not the lowest.
How many times do you need it said?
No. Governors don't control the spread of covid, anymore than witches caused droughts. It makes people feel more secure to scape goat people because the uncertainity of reality scares them.
But anyone who blamed DeSantis for a summer surge is a hypocrite if they aren't praising him for almost eradicating Covid in Florida now.
Florida has the lowest case count per capita in the country. Ask the New York Times.
That's what this article is about too. Gotta wonder if even the headline got read. WTH?
It’s pretty ridiculous. You have really high infection rates for months - way beyond what anyone else has - and then it subsides naturally or by accident for a couple of weeks, and you’re going to strut around like you accomplished something? Come on!