COVID-19 polarization deepens as new variant emerges

Welcome to the Inside Florida Politics newsletter, bringing you the latest statewide politics updates from the USA TODAY Network — Florida team.

With a new COVID-19 variant, omicron, brewing, Florida was a state of contradictions this week — with plenty of political jousting involved.

The number of new coronavirus infections continued to drop while the number of inoculations rose again.

But unvaccinated workers in North Florida hospitals and medical centers have stood their ground against vaccine mandates.

And Southwest Florida hospitals, which had previously vowed to enforce the vaccine requirement, put those plans on hold as court challenges were filed against federal mandates.

All of this came as Florida doctors pushed to get children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated. The state lags behind the national pace in inoculating kids in that age group.

Dismissal of COVID-19 public health alerts continues

One reason COVID-19 response measures have drawn political push back across Florida is the state remains a hub for dismissiveness of public health alerts despite almost two years of data and clear-cut evidence that facial coverings and vaccines do protect against infections and illness.

Remember that summit in Ocala last month to discuss "alternatives" to COVID-19 vaccines and approved treatments? Several doctors who attended contracted the virus, but nothing to see here, said the physician who organized the Florida Summit.

Next up is a Tennessee pastor who got kicked off Twitter for spreading misinformation about the pandemic. He's been invited to speak at a Bradenton church.

And an anti-mask, anti-vaccine advocate in Palm Beach County — who drew national attention for her outlandish statements — now has tossed her hat in the ring to run for a local mayoral post.

Entering the holiday season during a taxing pandemic

The rest of the state is dealing with yet another holiday season amid a taxing and exhausting pandemic that continues to force all sorts of adjustments and concessions.

The struggles include a shortage of Christmas trees in corners of the state.

The pandemic has even worn out Florida's vital National Guard, which responds to emergencies from hurricanes to civil unrest. The state militia, which has manned testing sites and field hospitals during the pandemic, now needs relief.

But help could be on the way, as Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers are offering a budget increase of more than $100 million to better fund the Florida National Guard and re-establish a Florida State Guard civilian volunteer force.

What's happening with redistricting?

Political fisticuffs also broke out this week over redistricting of boundaries for public office. Yes, that once-in-a-decade food fight in Tallahassee is upon us again.

GOP lawmakers in Tallahassee bristled at criticism they were using the process in a partisan way.

But another state lawmaker appears to want to do just by turning school board races into partisan contests.

Feuds over redistricting have filtered down to local jurisdictions. In Manatee County, commissioners are bickering over district boundaries that could define the county board make-up over the next decade.

Things we may all agree on

But maybe, just maybe, there are things we can all agree on.

The Biden administration's Build Back Better economic plan, which Republicans have lambasted, does include permanent bans on oil drilling.

Sure enough, Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are meeting to find ways to best spread Florida’s share of the $65 billion for broadband access tucked inside the Biden’s administration’s infrastructure, which did get bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.

And a philanthropic gift to help preserve a rare population of birds, the scrub jays, in the state, maybe, will boost efforts to improve management of the state's valuable wildlife and natural areas.

Tune in to our podcast and Florida Pulse Livestream

Want to hear more? Listen to this week's episode of the Inside Florida Politics podcast for additional insight into the redistricting battle and all things politics in the state. 🎙️

There will be a Florida Pulse Livestream at noon ET Wednesday, Dec. 8. Presented by USA TODAY Network—Florida, Doug Lyons of the Palm Beach Post will moderate a discussion about the 2022 Legislative session between James Call and John Kennedy of the network's Capital Bureau. They'll provide a preview of the key headlines going into the session, what the audience should be aware of, analysis, and more. The livestream will be posted on 16 Florida sites and their respective Facebook pages.

That's all for this week. Keep reading for this week's top headlines in politics.

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— Antonio Fins curated this newsletter. Have any feedback? We'd love to hear from you via this form.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: COVID-19 polarization deepens as new variant emerges