Florida not preordering toddler COVID-19 vaccines

MIAMI >> Florida is the only state that hasn't preordered COVID-19 vaccines for toddlers in anticipation of their final approval by the federal government, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he won't facilitate their distribution, though he said they'll be available to those who want them.

White House spokeswoman Karine JeanPierre, who confirmed Florida's outlier status on Thursday, said not preordering the vaccines could mean delaying their availability in children's hospitals and other facilities that have relied on state distribution of the shots.

Florida officials said the jabs would be available at pharmacies and community health centers, which can preorder them directly from the federal government, and that children's hospitals and other clinics would be able to order them from the federal government via a state portal and receive them quickly.

“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.”

The final OK could come this weekend for vaccines for kids under 5. The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up Wednesday to kid-size doses from Pfizer and Moderna for children as young as 6 months, deciding the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks.

Florida's Health Department does not recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children under 17, but says children with underlying health conditions should be considered candidates for them. That advice contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which so far has recommended the vaccines for everyone 5 years and older, saying the shots provide strong protection against hospitalization and death.

In Florida, pharmacies and several supermarket chains, plus some community health centers, can preorder vaccines from the federal government.