The claim that DeSantis is somehow threatening the lives of Florida’s children is also ridiculous. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal notes that as of July 31, the rate at which children were being hospitalized with coronavirus nationally was 0.5 per 100,000, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which amounts to roughly 250 patients. Moreover, the CDC acknowledged that not all of these children were even in the hospital for COVID-19, the article states. Even the doctors who have reported an increase in COVID-19 cases among children have admitted that it’s extremely unlikely that they fall seriously ill from the virus. So forgive me if I don’t buy into the hysteria.

It is also absurd to suggest that DeSantis’s opposition to sweeping mask mandates and other restrictions caused this spike. There are a number of other states that have similarly refrained from reimposing masking requirements, such as Idaho, without experiencing a significant increase in case rates. Idaho also has a much smaller vaccination percentage than Florida, but that has not been reflected in the state’s caseload either.

There are a couple of other factors at play that explain Florida’s spike, and none of them have to do with DeSantis: First, although Florida has led the country in vaccinating its elderly population, there are still many at-risk persons who have chosen not to get the shot, which means they are more likely to end up in the hospital. Second, Florida’s residents spend more time indoors during the summer months, where they’re more likely to spread the virus.