WASHINGTON – Florida doctors will be able to order COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 from 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 to refuse to pre-order pediatric injections, which were approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday. Final approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected in the coming days, which will clear the way for the last remaining unvaccinated age group to receive vaccines. The vaccines will be available for children from six months.
The White House has sharply criticized DeSantis’ position, but in a statement Friday welcomed the news that it allows individual doctors to order vaccines for their patients.
“We have started delivering vaccines to children’s hospitals and pediatricians in every state in the country except Florida,” said COVID-19 White House coordinator Dr. Ashish Ja. “The governor’s failure comes at a cost to Florida’s parents and families.
Jabs will be available quickly at pharmacies and public health centers, which can order them directly from the federal government, Ja said. But children’s hospitals, clinics and individual doctors’ offices will be at a disadvantage compared to other countries, which allow their doctors to pre-order, he said.
Ja attacked DeSantis, who often said he defended parental rights in health and education decisions, saying, “This administration trusts parents.”
“We know that all over America there are parents of children under the age of five who have been waiting for a very long time, and for many of them this delay, introduced by the governor and the Department of Health, I think is unconscionable,” he said. that it helps, and I think that for the waiting parents who made the choice, we have to make sure they can make that choice. “
DeSantis at Thursday’s press conference minimized delays and defended the state’s refusal to order vaccines.
“Doctors can get it. Hospitals can get it. But there will be no government programs trying to get COVID-19 on babies, young children and newborns, “he said.” That’s not where we’re going to 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 have criticized DeSantis for delaying access to vaccines.
“Although Governor DeSantis has reversed course and is now ordering vaccines, we will pull every lever to get pediatricians to vaccinate Florida as soon as possible,” said White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre. “This is an encouraging first step, and we call on the state to order vaccines for its state and local health departments so that all parents in Florida have the opportunity to vaccinate their children.”
DeSantis’ decision not to order pre-orders means that the state is lagging behind with pre-orders that were ready to be sent as soon as the FDA issued its emergency authorization. Ja said the administration was working to fulfill Florida’s orders as soon as possible, but said it would be days behind other states in the vaccination program.
Florida Health Department spokeswoman Jeremy Redfern said Florida’s online portal for ordering vaccines from the federal government, Florida SHOTS, has always been available for hospitals, clinics and small doctor’s offices.
However, according to CDC rules, providers can order vaccines only after an emergency authorization has been issued, Redfern said. Ja disputed this, saying that outside of Florida, states and public health departments have been able to help doctors and children’s hospitals pre-order injections in two weeks.
Public health departments, on the other hand, were able to pre-order vaccines pending the EUA, and Florida refused to do so. This means that the state will not have pre-existing stockpiles of vaccines to be sent to children’s hospitals for use on Day 1 of the permit. However, any provider can order vaccines and receive them for days or weeks, according to the state health department.
“Florida SHOTS will allow individual vendors to order photos the way they’ve always done,” Redfern said. “The Florida Department of Health will not be the federal government’s repository for their giant pile of vaccines.
While DeSantis said the state has enough supplies for vaccines, officials warned that vaccines approved for children under 5 contain specialized instructions and syringes suitable for this age group, and that vaccines labeled for older children should not be to be used for the youngest cohort. The Pfizer pediatric vaccine for younger children has a lower dose than for older children.
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