WASHINGTON – Florida doctors will be able to apply for COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of five in the federal government, the White House said Friday after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state would not order or distribute vaccines in the state.
The state was the only jurisdiction in the nation that declined to place advance orders for pediatric injections, which received permission from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday. The final approval of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected in the coming days, paving the way for the last unvaccinated age group to receive vaccinations. Vaccines will be available for children up to six months.
The White House has been very critical of DeSantis’ position, but in a statement on Friday welcomed the news that it would allow individual doctors to request vaccines for their patients.
“We have started sending vaccines to pediatric hospitals and pediatricians in every state in the country except Florida,” said White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. “Governor failure has a price for Florida parents and families.”
The beatings will be available quickly at pharmacies and community health centers, which can order them directly from the federal government, Jha said. But children’s hospitals, clinics and individual doctors’ offices will be at a disadvantage compared to other states that allowed their doctors to pre-order, he said.
Jha slammed DeSantis, who has often said he defends parental rights in health and education decisions, saying, “This administration trusts parents.”
“We know that there are parents across America of children under the age of 5 who have been waiting for a long time, and for many of them, this delay introduced by the actions of the governor and the Department of Health, I think is inadmissible. “, he said. “I don’t think it helps, and I think for parents who have been waiting, who have made the choice, it’s up to us to make sure they are able to make that choice.”
DeSantis at Thursday’s press conference downplayed the delays and defended the state’s refusal to ask for vaccines.
“Doctors can get it. Hospitals can get it. But there will be no state program that tries to use COVID shots on babies and toddlers,” he said. “This is not where we will use our resources.”
Federal officials believe most parents of young children plan to vaccinate their children in their pediatrician’s office, rather than pharmacies or hospitals, and criticized DeSantis for delaying access to vaccinations.
“Even though Governor DeSantis has reversed course and is now calling for vaccines, we will do our best to get pediatricians to track down Florida vaccines as soon as possible,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean- Pierre. “This is an encouraging first step and we urge the state to apply for vaccines for its state and local health departments so that all Florida parents have the opportunity to vaccinate their children.”
DeSantis’ decision not to reserve shots means the state is lagging behind in pre-orders that were ready to ship as soon as the FDA issued its emergency use authorization. Jha said the administration was working to fill Florida’s orders as soon as possible, but said it would be days behind other states in the vaccination program.
Florida Department of Health spokesman Jeremy Redfern said Florida’s online portal for requesting vaccines from the federal government, Florida SHOTS, has always been available in hospitals, clinics and small medical offices.
However, according to CDC rules, providers can only order vaccines once an emergency use permit has been issued, Redfern said. Jha denied it, saying outside of Florida, states and public health departments have been able to help doctors and children’s hospitals pre-order vaccinations for two weeks.
State health departments, on the other hand, have been able to reserve vaccines in anticipation of a U.S., and that is what Florida has refused to do. This means that the state will not have an existing reserve of vaccines to send to children’s hospitals for use on the 1st day of authorization. However, any provider can order vaccines and get them in days or a week, depending on the state health department.
“Florida SHOTS will allow individual vendors to request shots the way they have always done,” Redfern said. “The Florida Department of Health will not be the federal government’s storage unit for its large stack of vaccines.”
Although DeSantis said the state had a lot of vaccines, officials warned that approved vaccines for children under the age of 5 contain specialized instructions and syringes appropriate for that age group, and that vaccines labeled for older children should not be used for the younger cohort. Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine for younger children has a lower dose than for older children.