By: Michelle Yao

After facing mounting pressure from medical professionals and the federal government, Florida has allowed healthcare providers to order coronavirus vaccines for children under five.

Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration had not moved from its original position and only allowed orders once the FDA authorized the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for young children.

Unlike the other 49 states and D.C., Florida did not allow doctors and other healthcare providers to pre-order vaccines ahead of the federal government’s June 14 time limit. As a result of this, no doses will be shipped to doctors in Florida during the first and second wave of the vaccine shipments.

“The state of Florida intentionally missed multiple deadlines to order vaccines to protect its youngest kids,” said Ashish K. Jha, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator.

Bryan Griffin, press secretary for DeSantis, said that “characterizing Florida’s policy as a reversal was ‘patently false.’”

“We have always maintained the position that the state of Florida has chosen not to be involved in the pre-ordering or distribution of the vaccine for children under five,” Griffin said. “The state of Florida does not recommend the vaccine be administered to healthy children.”

Lisa Gwynn, the president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatricians at the University of Miami, said that she contacted the Florida Department of Health about the vaccines, not knowing that no pre-orders were to be placed and that medical professionals would only be allowed to after the vaccines received authorization from the FDA.

Vaccines for very young children are mostly given in pediatrician’s offices. Unlike pharmacies, which are in the federal Covid vaccine program, these doctors cannot order vaccines on their own, Gwynn stated.

Florida’s health department did confirm that it had not pre-ordered any vaccines for children under five. Only after the FDA authorized shots on June 17, after its advisory panel voted 21-0, did they start to recommend Moderna and Pfizer shots for their youngest children.

In March, Florida advised against coronavirus vaccination for healthy children five and older, which made it the first state to go against CDC guidance.

Allowing doctors to order vaccines will expand access to vaccine doses in Florida once available. If this did not become an option, Florida parents looking to vaccinate their children would be limited to federally-qualified health centers and certain pharmacies.

Link: Florida Allows Doctors to Order Covid Vaccines for Young Children – The New York Times nytimes.com

Florida providers are now able to order COVID-19 vaccines for young kids beckershospitalreview.com