On the 17th of this month, Florida became the final state in the United States to allow pediatricians to order vaccines for children 5 and under. After federal officials and medical professionals relentlessly pressured the state to give in, Florida finally began to let hospitals around the state purchase vaccines for young children.
This is extremely beneficial to the health of the younger children in Florida. Young children having the option to get the vaccine at any local doctor’s office allows many more susceptible children to get the coronavirus vaccine easily.
However, many hospitals were not informed of one thing: only after FDA approval may vaccines for children under 5 be ordered by pediatricians. Many doctors have also been misled by the information the government has given about where to order vaccines from. “First they said providers could order directly from the federal government,” Dr Lisa Gwynn of Miami University said. “That’s not true. We have to order through the state.”
Many have conspired about the intentions of Florida being the only state that did not pre-order vaccines for younger children in the first wave of rations. Florida prohibited health care providers from pre-ordering vaccines ahead of the deadline of June 14th.
“The state of Florida intentionally missed multiple deadlines to order vaccines to protect its youngest kids,” says Dr. Ashish K Jha, the coronavirus response coordinator of the White House. Now, the main concerns of many doctors is when doses of the vaccine will be delivered due to missed orders.
Additionally, Florida is still refusing to offer vaccines for younger children through state and local health departments, only offering it at official hospitals. This makes getting the vaccine all the more difficult for children without a regular health care provider.
The White House sees this new policy as a change in Florida’s position on vaccinating young children, even deeming it a “reversal”. However, Governor of Florida Rob DeSantis’s administration thinks otherwise.
“We have always maintained the position that the state of Florida has chosen not to be involved in the preordering or distribution of the vaccine for children under 5,” Mr. DeSantis’s deputy press secretary Bryan Griffin said. “The state of Florida does not recommend the vaccine be administered to healthy children.” He believes that declaring the new policy as a reversal is “patently false”.
This is extremely beneficial to the health of the younger children in Florida. Young children having the option to get the vaccine at any local doctor’s office allows many more susceptible children to get the coronavirus vaccine easily.
However, many hospitals were not informed of one thing: only after FDA approval may vaccines for children under 5 be ordered by pediatricians. Many doctors have also been misled by the information the government has given about where to order vaccines from. “First they said providers could order directly from the federal government,” Dr Lisa Gwynn of Miami University said. “That’s not true. We have to order through the state.”
Many have conspired about the intentions of Florida being the only state that did not pre-order vaccines for younger children in the first wave of rations. Florida prohibited health care providers from pre-ordering vaccines ahead of the deadline of June 14th.
“The state of Florida intentionally missed multiple deadlines to order vaccines to protect its youngest kids,” says Dr. Ashish K Jha, the coronavirus response coordinator of the White House. Now, the main concerns of many doctors is when doses of the vaccine will be delivered due to missed orders.
Additionally, Florida is still refusing to offer vaccines for younger children through state and local health departments, only offering it at official hospitals. This makes getting the vaccine all the more difficult for children without a regular health care provider.
The White House sees this new policy as a change in Florida’s position on vaccinating young children, even deeming it a “reversal”. However, Governor of Florida Rob DeSantis’s administration thinks otherwise.
“We have always maintained the position that the state of Florida has chosen not to be involved in the preordering or distribution of the vaccine for children under 5,” Mr. DeSantis’s deputy press secretary Bryan Griffin said. “The state of Florida does not recommend the vaccine be administered to healthy children.” He believes that declaring the new policy as a reversal is “patently false”.
