South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK
Even rich unable to obtain COVID-19 shots offered at ultra-wealthy Keys enclave
Pastor D.H. Dawkins Sr., Praise Tabernacle International. Many people are taking note of the Republicans who voted against the stimulus bill. However, they are a small representation of a larger group of Americans who don’t believe that the majority of our country needs financial relief, schools need it, and making progress in vaccinating more citizens needs it as well. In other words, know your politicians, but know, engage and impact your immediate community even more.
Tracey Labgold, chairperson, Anti-Defamation League Florida. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, there has been a surge in racist and hateful behavior targeting Asian-Americans. In the last year, reported anti-Asian hate crimes have increased significantly — from harassment with racial slurs to violent assaults, including the killing of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco. ADL urges Congress to prioritize and condemn the rise in this unfounded, vile anti-Asian hate; hold perpetrators accountable; and use their positions of leadership to support and stand in solidarity with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.
Chip LaMarca, member, Florida House of Representatives. The Centers for Disease Control has released new guidelines. Fully vaccinated Americans have officially been given the green light to gather only with other vaccinated people. Both vaccinated groups can gather indoors without wearing a mask. One is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose. The CDC is still recommending that vaccinated people avoid large gatherings and continue to wear masks and social distance while out in public. As of March 15, residents 60 years and older, will be eligible for the vaccine. I will continue to update you as new information becomes available.
Sarah Leonardi, member, Broward County School Board. Last week’s roof collapse at Rickards Middle School was scary for those involved, and I’m grateful nobody was seriously injured. The Rickards community needs our support as they are displaced from their school while the district investigates the cause of the collapse and repairs the damage. I am committed to offering help, guidance and peace of mind to those affected by this incident. No one should be worried about their or their children’s safety while at school. Oakland Park Mayor Jane Bolin and I are hosting a community meeting Monday, March 15 at 5:30pm. Register here: http:// bit.ly/3cjfgmY.
Tina Polsky, member, Florida Senate. This week, the students of Florida dodged a huge bullet with the temporary postponement of SB 86 by Senator Dennis Baxley. This bill would have allowed the Board of Governors to determine what college majors were worthy of receiving Florida student financial aid based on the appearance of immediate employability after the completion of a student’s degree. I have many unfriendly words to say about this ridiculous bill, but most of all, I want to thank the bipartisan push by students and parents to get rid of this bill (temporarily). You make a difference, and I am so proud. Keep pushing!
Philip Purcell, CEO/President, Marine Industries Association of South Florida. Broward Days 2021 from Tallahassee is Monday, March 15. This year’s event is virtual, but organizers have assembled prominent Broward and statewide leaders to bring updates to Broward Days attendees. Kickoff is with our Broward Legislative Delegation at 11:30 a.m., followed by Broward constitutional officers and other Broward elected leaders. Also, joining will be Senate President Wilton Simpson and Rules Chair Representative Paul Renner followed by Cabinet members and agency heads. Interested citizens should join this educational, and informative event about the Florida Legislature at work. Register at www. browarddays.com. All registration funds collected will benefit our local COVID frontline heroes.
Andy Thomson, member, Boca Raton City Council. This week, a report issued by Smart Growth America showed that, in the last decade, there’s been a staggering 45% increase in the number of pedestrians struck and killed by drivers nationwide. The past four years have been the deadliest, with over 6,000 pedestrian fatalities each year. Unfortunately, the MiamiFort Lauderdale-West Palm metropolitan area ranks as one of the most dangerous in the nation for pedestrian fatalities. We must do better by prioritizing pedestrian and cyclist safety over traffic speed, implementing “complete streets” and taking action to protect our streets’ most vulnerable users.
Gordon Weekes, public defender, 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County. This month marks one year of COVID-19 wreaking its havoc. Limited mental health services have been stretched too thin by an explosion of pandemic-related mental health crises. Jails have become a primary provider of mental health services; the justice system is a main link between those in need and the dearth of services available. This cannot continue. Equal justice demands equal access. Services that heal minds also minimize police involvement with those in crisis, reducing crime. The courts and jails cannot be the only link to connect those dealing with mental illness with meaningful treatment and the opportunity to heal.
Even at the exclusive Ocean Reef Club not every person was able to snag a COVID-19 vaccine appointment when the shot was in short supply in January.
People who did not live in the ultrawealthy enclave in the Florida Keys were denied shots because the coveted doses were reserved for residents, two people who tried unsuccessfully to book appointments told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
That even applied to people 65 and older who held social memberships to use the club’s amenities, said one vaccine seeker who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he didn’t want to be ostracized for speaking out.
“People were happy as clams to get it, but a lot of us didn’t get it,” he said.
Another woman, who also didn’t want her name published, said when she tried to
Turn to Shots,
book an appointment she was told by the enclave’s medical center that only equity members at Ocean Reef could get the vaccine. Equity membership requires owning property in the enclave. Less-expensive social club memberships are available to people who don’t live there but want to socialize there.
The woman, who didn’t live in Ocean Reef but received care at its medical center, complained to the county’s health department about the vaccine drive’s exclusivity.
“Those are the wealthiest at Ocean Reef,” she wrote. “Doesn’t seem right.”
Officials with Ocean Reef Club and the Medical Center at Ocean Reef did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the eligibility rules.
Bob Eadie, who heads Monroe County’s health department, acknowledged in emails obtained through a public records request that equity holders at the club received vaccines in January, ahead of much of the rest of the state.
“Equity Holders, who are 65 and older, of the Ocean Reef Club, Inc., are receiving COVID-19 vaccinations from its medical facility . ... The Monroe County Health Department and Monroe County Emergency Management have no involvement with this arrangement,” Eadie wrote on Jan. 18 in response to an inquiry.
The tropical oasis north of Key Largo has emerged as a flashpoint in a debate over whether Florida’s vaccine distribution favored the wealthy and politically connected.
Ocean Reef — where homes can go for as much as $20 million — features a runway for private planes, two championship 18-hole golf courses, a 175-slip marina, cultural center, medical center, gourmet grocery store, school and full-service spa.
Brochures tout that the “Secret Service has called Ocean Reef the most secure residential community in the entire United States.” The enclave has hosted presidents, including Barack Obama in 2014. President Joe Biden stayed there in 2013 when he was vice president.
About 1,600 equity members own Ocean Reef property, according to the community’s website. There are an additional 2,000 social and local memberships.
By mid-January, 1,200 Ocean Reef residents had received their first shot, even though the vaccine was in short supply, according to a Jan. 22 article in a community letter obtained by the Miami Herald.
It’s not clear how Ocean Reef secured an early supply of vaccine.
Baptist Health South Florida, a Coral Gables nonprofit hospital system, sent vaccines to the Medical Center at Ocean Reef.
Baptist Health officials initially said the state directed the hospital system to send the doses to Ocean Reef. Then they backpedaled and clarified they weren’t aware of Gov. Ron DeSantis or his staff being involved. Hospital officials have not explained who made the call to send vaccines to Ocean Reef.
Baptist Health — which operates hospitals in MiamiDade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties — has a partnership with the Medical Center at Ocean Reef.
Baptist Health also has close ties to the Ocean Reef community. Baptist Health CEO Brian Keeley and his wife own a home in Ocean Reef, according to Monroe County property records. At least eight members of Baptist Health South Florida’s board or the board of its affiliated foundation live in Ocean Reef or have business or philanthropic ties to the wealthy enclave.
On Jan. 19, about the same time Ocean Reef residents got their shots, Baptist Health announced on social media it was canceling first-dose vaccine appointments because of supply constraints.
Under fire from Democrats, DeSantis has said he had no involvement in the Ocean Reef vaccination drive, but he saw no problem with it because seniors received shots.
“I am not worried about your income bracket. I am worried about your age bracket,” he said.