Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the Florida Supreme Court to assemble a grand jury to investigate possible misconduct by the medical community regarding how it informed Floridians about COVID-19 vaccines and their actual efficacy.
In other words, DeSantis is seeking to establish some kind of truth and reconciliation commission to hold accountable those who have supposedly failed to fully protect Florida from a virus that has claimed more than 83,000 deaths in the state since the beginning of 2020.
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But let’s never lose sight of the following:
In the past two years, few leaders have surpassed DeSantis in discouraging mask mandates that have clearly been beneficial, blocking access to vaccine shots that have clearly saved lives, and downplaying the severity of a global pandemic that has clearly been catastrophic, with more than 1 million lives I lostin the United States only.
Given all this, if a panel is to be called to demand that it be made amends for failing to protect Florida’s well-being in the midst of COVID, shouldn’t DeSantis be among the first to appear for it?
Doesn’t our governor have much more to answer for for the grim impact of COVID on Florida than members of the scientific community? They have certainly done much more to lessen the toll of the pandemic than he has, with their remarkable efforts to quickly develop, distribute and administer a variety of life-saving drugs.
The conventional wisdom is that DeSantis is crying out for a grand jury to investigate the scientific community because it: a) is another way to boost his 2024 presidential aspirations (especially under the overly large contingent of COVID-19). vaccine skeptics in America, and b) another way to settle scores with medical experts who have admirably opposed the governor’s campaign to encourage Floridians to ignore the reality of COVID.
But none of these reasons — or anything for that matter — can possibly justify DeSantis’ latest attempt to treat COVID as a cheap political opportunity, not a serious public health problem.
That’s why when it comes to DeSantis’ call to hold others accountable for COVID in our state, this three-word answer should suffice:
You first, Governor.
– This editorial was written by opinion editor Roger Brown for the Herald-Tribune Editorial Board.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Gov. DeSantis Must Look in the Mirror for Accountability on COVID
