Fried claims COVID tests close to expiring; sniping continues as omicron spreads

Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried on Thursday accused the DeSantis administration of sitting on a stockpile of soon-to-expire COVID tests and urged their rapid distribution, but provided few specifics.

The complaint from Fried, a Democrat seeking her party’s nomination to run against Gov. Ron DeSantis next year, came via a written statement distributed by her department and on her official Twitter thread.

“It’s come to my attention that Gov. DeSantis’ Department of Health has a significant number of COVID-19 tests stockpiled that are set to expire imminently,” Fried wrote.

“Given the governor’s lack of transparency throughout this pandemic, there’s no known public information about these tests or how soon they expire. With omicron infections exploding throughout Florida, I beg of him to release these tests immediately to local counties and cities, and to stand up state-sponsored testing sites. To let these tests expire while Floridians anxiously wait for hours in testing lines is negligent at best, and heartless at worst,” she added.

An aide to Fried said the report came from a knowledgeable and trusted source but the aide did not disclose details, except that the tests number around 1 million.

Read more: https://floridaphoenix.com/2021/12/30/fried-claims-covid-tests-close-to-expiring-sniping-continues-as-omicron-spreads/