For a long time, big decisions that affected the health of Floridians came from county-run health departments. Aiming for more equity, Democrats funneled that power to the state, and somewhere along the way, Republicans embraced big government.
Yellow Fever to COVID: Florida's Democrats Gave the State Power Over Public Health, Republicans Ran With It
![An image of a syringe leaning against a vial of COVID-19 vaccine](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/df0a7fc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3885x2587+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2022%2F01%2F05%2Fap21357816687871_custom-5073b66dd11abf5ee71c20f6c8fe9e0e15d8d1ae.jpg)
Matt Rourke
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AP