Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaks during during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando last month. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Thousands of residents over 65 in a wealthy gated enclave in the Florida Keys had received COVID vaccines by mid-January, while most of the rest of Florida's elderly waited for their shots, report the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald.
Why it matters: The uber-rich Ocean Reef Club on Key Largo, with more than 2,100 full- or part-time members, was dubbed by the papers as "one of the highest-security private communities in the nation."
- Ocean Reef did not respond to the Times' and Herald's request for comment on how it obtained so many vaccines so quickly.
The state of play: The only people from the area who gave to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) political committee all live in Ocean Reef. All 17 had given contributions of $5,000 through December 2020.
- Resident Bruce Rauner, who served as the Republican governor of Illinois and headed a Chicago private equity firm, donated $250,000 in February.
What they're saying: DeSantis spokesperson Meredith Beatrice told the papers that the governor was not involved in selecting Ocean Reef for early vaccines.
- "This was not a state-supported senior community POD [point of distribution], nor was it requested by the governor."
The big picture: DeSantis has been criticized for steering exclusive pop-up vaccination sites to other wealthy communities in Florida — and has continually denied that politics drove the decisions.
- Two of the wealthiest zip codes in Manatee County — both predominantly white and heavily Republican — got a pop-up site with DeSantis' assistance. The governor responded by dismissing any charges of favoritism.
- Three other developments in the state run by Pat Neal, a politically-connected developer and former state senator who has a long history in GOP politics, also got similar vaccine sites. At the time, a DeSantis spokesman said the "insinuation" that they were "established for political purposes is completely baseless."
Florida readers: Check out the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard.