Palm Beach County leaders are responding to a "60 Minutes" report involving Florida's COVID vaccine rollout.
The show brought up an early issue involving Publix becoming the main source for the shots in the county, while the supermarket has no stores in the underserved communities near Lake Okeechobee.
County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, during Tuesday's meeting, admitted that the issue was fixed quickly, once she notified the state. A vaccination site was opened in Pahokee.
"So it was resolved. And that message was made clear to the reporters from "60 Minutes." They decided not to use that."
McKinlay has been a frequent critic of Governor DeSantis, who has denied multiple claims in the show.
She gave credit to Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz for opening the Pahokee vaccine site, without mentioning the governor.
Vice Mayor Robert Weinroth says the story, which aired on Sunday night, aimed only to smear Governor DeSantis, who he says has served the county well during the pandemic.
"The article and the way that CBS dealt with this county was unfair. And I think they owe this county an apology and I think they owe this state an apology."
He called the "60 Minutes" segment "unfair" and took away from the hard work the county has done and the successes it has had in combating the coronavirus.
The CBS report accuses the governor of "pay to play," by rewarding Publix with a COVID vaccine contract for campaign contributions. That's been refuted by DeSantis, Publix and Florida Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat and former state House member.
Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner put out a statement on Monday evening, that called the report "intentionally false." He says he offered to provide his insight into the county's vaccination efforts and "60 Minutes" declined.
Kerner's full statement:
I watched the 60 Minutes segment on Palm Beach County last night and feel compelled to issue this statement. The reporting was not just based on bad information - it was intentionally false. I know this because I offered to provide my insight into Palm Beach County's vaccination efforts and 60 Minutes declined. They know that the Governor came to Palm Beach County and met with me and the County Administrator and we asked to expand the state's partnership with Publix to Palm Beach County. We also discussed our own local plans to expand mass vaccinations centers throughout the county, which the Governor has been incredibly supportive.
We asked and he delivered. They had that information, and they left it out because it kneecaps their narrative.
We have confronted this pandemic for over a year. Our residents, like all Americans, are tired. And the media is making it worse. They are hellbent on dividing us for cheap views and clicks. 60 Minutes should be ashamed.
I thank the Governor for supporting the residents of Palm Beach County. Because of his efforts, working in coordination with Palm Beach County officials, over 275,000 seniors in our county-which is over 75% of the total senior population- have been vaccinated. I am proud of how our county and state leadership have executed on this important mission, and the results speak for themselves.
Photo: CBS 12