High-level entertainment industry executives are reportedly trading camera shots for vaccine shots, and Florida may be their preferred place to make the switch.
Movie executives Richard Parsons, the former chairman and CEO of Time Warner; Allen Shapiro, the former CEO of Dick Clark Productions; and producer Mark Canton, also of Dick Clark Productions, all reportedly flew to Florida to capitalize on the state’s expanded COVID-19 vaccine rollout, according to sources cited by Hollywood Reporter.
Parsons, who is said to have traveled to the Sunshine State from New York, a state that has been hampered by rollout delays, praised the efficacy of Florida’s system.
“It’s orderly and sensible. I don’t know how Florida got the march on everyone else, but you go online, you make an appointment, [and] you get an appointment,” he said.
When the Hollywood Reporter reached out to Shapiro for comment, the publication was redirected to two publicists and an attorney, all of whom declined to speak on the record.
One source reportedly suggested, however, that Shapiro lays some claim to Florida residency because he has a Florida home and conducts business in the state. A source close to Canton denied the reporting on the producer’s trip, saying, “It is totally untrue that he flew on a private jet anywhere with anyone, including Allen Shapiro.”
Some residents of the state have denounced the decision to grant vaccine access to “snowbirds” as “medical tourism.” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat who may launch a bid against incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, was critical of the practice.
“This is a major issue,” Fried said. “We are seeing lines all across the state of Florida. … I’ve talked to seniors who’ve waited hours upon hours.”
DeSantis dismissed the criticism during a press conference at The Villages, a Sumter County retirement community.
“I think it’s totally fine if they wanted to” be vaccinated, the Republican governor said. “It’s not like they’re just vacationing for two weeks. … They have relationships with doctors. They get medical care in Florida. … So that’s a little bit different than somebody that’s just doing tourism.”
The expanded rollout in Florida, in which both residents and non-residents over the age of 65 are eligible for inoculation, coincides with a vaccine shortage plaguing Hollywood executives’ home base in Los Angeles.
“The bottom line is that we don’t have enough vaccines,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “It’s a dual problem: We need more, and we need to get them out more quickly.”
