By: Kobe Cheng

On June 17, 2022, facing pressure from medical professionals and the federal

government, Florida began to allow children’s doctors, children’s hospitals, and other physicians

to order coronavirus vaccines for younger children, according to state and White House officials.

Florida is among the top five states for new coronavirus infections, according to a

Washington Post analysis. “The state of Florida intentionally missed multiple deadlines to order

vaccines to protect its youngest kids,” Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the White House’s coronavirus

response coordinator.

Unlike the other 49 states, Florida did not allow health care providers to preorder the

vaccines ahead of the federal government’s June 14 deadline. Vaccinations for very young

children are typically administered at pediatricians’ offices, but unlike pharmacies in the federal

Covid vaccine program, doctors cannot order doses on their own, Dr. Lisa Gwynn said.

On Thursday, June 16th, Gov. DeSantis defended his administration’s refusal to

preorder any vaccines for state-run medical facilities. The refusal includes county-level public

health offices, which are under state control. Gov. DeSantis said “I would say we are

affirmatively against the Covid vaccine for young kids. These are the people who have zero risk

of getting anything.”

The governor’s position on children’s vaccines comes from the views of his top health

appointee, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who has repeatedly questioned the safety of the

shots despite strong evidence that they protect against severe illness and death. This year,

Ladapo became the first state health official to recommend against coronavirus vaccinations for

healthy children because he argues they are at lower risk of severe illness from Covid, a

position harshly criticized by pediatricians and top infectious-disease experts from the FDA and

CDC.

Ultimately, on Friday morning, a congressional subcommittee looking over the refusal

sent Mr. DeSantis a letter urging him to reverse his position, which he did. Now,

people in all 50 states will be able to get shots at doctors’ offices.