Once the FDA approved coronavirus vaccines for children under five on Friday, Florida allowed pediatricians to order coronavirus vaccines as they originally planned. The federal government and Florida’s medical professionals have been criticizing Florida’s plan.
The federal government accused Florida of “intentionally missing multiple deadlines to order vaccines to protect its youngest kids,” when all other 49 states plus the District of Columbia preordered the vaccine. As a result, the children won’t receive doses more than a week after FDA’s approval. The Florida medical professionals have been frustrated for not being able to provide vaccines for young children.
After Florida approved the vaccine for young children, the White House praised the move and called it a “reversal” done by Governor Ron DeSantis. The New York Times said that “Mr. DeSantis’s administration insisted that it had not budged from its original position and only allowed orders once the Food and Drug Administration authorized the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for very young children on Friday morning.” Bryan Griffin, a deputy press secretary for Mr. DeSantis argues that was “patently false.” He states “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. The state of Florida does not recommend the vaccine be administered to healthy children”.
On Thursday, Florida’s state officials said that doctors could order vaccines as needed. On LinkedIn, Dr. Lisa Gwynn is the associate professor in clinical pediatrics and Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She is also the Vice President of the Florida Chapter of the AAP and chair of the School Health Task Force. She said that she had been in contact with the people in the Florida Department of Health, but they didn’t mention that doctors could order vaccines. In fact, doctors had to order through the state portal which was not opened until Friday.
The federal government accused Florida of “intentionally missing multiple deadlines to order vaccines to protect its youngest kids,” when all other 49 states plus the District of Columbia preordered the vaccine. As a result, the children won’t receive doses more than a week after FDA’s approval. The Florida medical professionals have been frustrated for not being able to provide vaccines for young children.
After Florida approved the vaccine for young children, the White House praised the move and called it a “reversal” done by Governor Ron DeSantis. The New York Times said that “Mr. DeSantis’s administration insisted that it had not budged from its original position and only allowed orders once the Food and Drug Administration authorized the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for very young children on Friday morning.” Bryan Griffin, a deputy press secretary for Mr. DeSantis argues that was “patently false.” He states “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. The state of Florida does not recommend the vaccine be administered to healthy children”.
On Thursday, Florida’s state officials said that doctors could order vaccines as needed. On LinkedIn, Dr. Lisa Gwynn is the associate professor in clinical pediatrics and Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She is also the Vice President of the Florida Chapter of the AAP and chair of the School Health Task Force. She said that she had been in contact with the people in the Florida Department of Health, but they didn’t mention that doctors could order vaccines. In fact, doctors had to order through the state portal which was not opened until Friday.
