Florida Dem gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried wrongly stated that hospital admissions in the state due to COVID-19 are “worse than the worst last year”:
Florida hospitals are being overwhelmed by COVID admissions, almost entirely unvaccinated individuals, including young and middle age Floridians.
It's worse than the worst last year.
Watch & share today's briefing. pic.twitter.com/6nJ1nA63v2
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) August 1, 2021
Here’s what’s really going on, via Gov. Ron DeSantis spox Christina Pushaw:
“This is a lie. The worst day for COVID hospitalizations was last year, July 22, 2020 — before vaccines were available. Now with most adults in Florida vaccinated, we aren’t “worse off” than we were last year, unless @NikkiFried is saying the vaccines don’t work? Irresponsible.”
This is a lie. The worst day for COVID hospitalizations was last year, July 22, 2020 — before vaccines were available. Now with most adults in Florida vaccinated, we aren’t “worse off” than we were last year, unless @NikkiFried is saying the vaccines don’t work? Irresponsible. pic.twitter.com/12ffIVKU9g
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) August 1, 2021
Yes, cases are up in Florida but the largest public hospital in Florida is reporting hospitalizations at about half what they were at the worst of it a year ago, confirming Pushaw’s tweet:
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Hospitalizations at Jackson in Fla via the NYT. https://t.co/mQhrrhIwGS pic.twitter.com/fCEkHcpwCG
— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) August 1, 2021
And you can’t go by cases in the state any longer as a metric anyway. Cases, which have surged 40x in this example, have not been followed by a massive number of deaths:
May 20, 2020: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis brags “we succeeded” against Covid.
• 530 new Covid cases
• 44 new deathsJuly 31, 2021: Florida leads the nation in coronavirus cases.
• 21,683 new Covid cases
• 108 new deathspic.twitter.com/DYB7lTalC5— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) July 31, 2021
The truth matters:
Her assertion “it’s worse than the worst last year” is factually incorrect, but Florida media activists will ignore that. Narrative > numbers. https://t.co/8hLJrR9dwF
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) August 1, 2021
But it’s not only Fried getting called out for lying. Here’s Pushaw going after the Orlando Sentinel for this incorrect headline:
Why is @GrayRohrer not telling the truth? For his information: @GovRonDeSantis just had a press conference on Friday and again reiterated that “the vaccines provide good protection against serious illness.” Please correct your disinformation @orlandosentinel. pic.twitter.com/ql6ij036nE
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) August 1, 2021
There’s even video. The Sentinel could have titled that article, “DeSantis Pushes Vaccinations”:
Skip to the end where @GovRonDeSantis is taking questions. This was part of his response to @BrendonLeslie https://t.co/U2vxsxvsPQ
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) August 1, 2021
Do better, media:
I feel like headlines such as @orlandosentinel’s contribute to vaccine hesitancy by turning it into a political issue. What if people read this lie and are misled into believing the Governor isn’t supporting vaccines anymore? That will not encourage them to get vaccinated.
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) August 1, 2021
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