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Florida Will Become First State in Nation to Recommend Against COVID-19 Vaccine for Healthy Children

Though recommended for adults, it is a hotly-debated issue whether children should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Along those lines, Florida recently revealed it will be the first to recommend against administering the COVID vaccine to children.

What we Learned

  • Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced Florida will recommend against administering COVID-19 vaccines to children.
  • The CDC and Food and Drug Administration advise giving children vaccines.
  • White House press secretary Jen Psaki does not condone the decision.
  • Joseph Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis explain why they don’t want to adminster vaccines to kids.

A local official told the New York Post the news yesterday, saying Florida will be the first to formally recommend against COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo endorses and announced the move himself. The recommendation goes against what the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise, which is children ages 5 to 7 be vaccinated. “The Florida Department of Health is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children,” Ladapo said. He did not specify when the agency would release these new guidelines.

Conversely, the CDC said COVID vaccinations give children 5 and older added protection for the virus. This extends to lowering hospitalization and death resulting from the illness. Children are less likely than adults to experience COVID’s more severe symptoms. Nonetheless, experts recommend it to reduce their risk and curb the virus spreading.

The Food and Drug Administration also approved Pfizer’s vaccine in children as young as 5 based on study findings. It showed child-size doses had a 91 perfect effectiveness at preventing symptomatic virus cases. Additionally, children with pre-existing conditions, like obesity and asthma, are at higher risk for illness and hospitalization.

Upon hearing the news, White House press secretary Jen Psaki condemned Ladapo’s announcement. She stated it is “deeply disturbing that there are politicians peddling conspiracy theories out there and casting doubt on vaccinations when it is our best tool against the virus.”

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis Explain the Decision

Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Joseph Ladapo for a press briefing yesterday to announce the vaccine news. Health experts who have been criticized for their controversial perspectives regarding vaccines also joined the duo for the briefing.

One of those scientists happened to be Robert Malone, a vaccine scientist who said the risk for vaccinating children outweighed the benefits. “The consensus of over 17,000 physicians and medical scientists are that the risk-benefit ratio for children does not justify vaccination.”

Finally, after Ladapo discussed Florida recommending against vaccinating children, DeSantis provided his thoughts. “This discussion has crystallized a lot of things I think we’ve seen,” DeSantis said. “You have this lack of trust in the medical establishment and in the CDC and the politicization of those institutions, and that’s not going to bode well for us as a society going forward.”