Florida doctors can order COVID-19 shots for children under 5, says White House

A lot of people were not happy with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida saying that the state will not order or distribute COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of 5. Florida was the only state in the United States to not place advance orders for the vaccines which were earlier authorised by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The White House was also extremely critical of the decision, and they announced on Friday that the doctors in Florida will now be able to directly order the vaccine from the federal government. The orders will be sanctioned once the vaccines receive the final approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the next few days.

“We are encouraged that after repeated failures by Governor DeSantis to order COVID-19 vaccines even after every other state had ordered, the State of Florida is now permitting health care providers to order COVID-19 vaccines for our youngest children,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “We believe it is critical to allow parents everywhere to have the choice to get their kids vaccinated and have a conversation with their pediatrician or health care provider.”

The FDA finally authorised the COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of six months and five years on Friday and it is expected to be approved in a CDC vote taking place on Saturday.

The vaccine will be available at pharmacies and community health centers all around Florida and the orders can be placed by children's hospitals and other clinics directly through a state portal.

"Doctors can get it. Hospitals can get it. But there's not going to be any state programs that are going to be trying to get COVID jabs to infants and toddlers and newborns," DeSantis said at a news conference. "That's not where we're gonna be utilizing our resources."

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(With inputs from agencies)