COVID-19 shots for under 5 are approved and Florida is partially on board
DORAL, FL – COVID-19 shots for kids under 5 were approved this week by the Food and Drug Administration and while Florida was initially the only U.S. state that had not ordered vaccines for this population, now Governor Ron DeSantis has announced an important change.
According to McClatchy News, healthcare providers, including pediatricians and children’s hospitals, will be able to order COVID-19 vaccines from a federal program for children between six months and 5 years old.
The decision although improves chances for parents to vaccinate their little ones, still falls short taking into account that state health facilities will still not be placing orders for vaccine doses.
“Even though Governor DeSantis reversed course and is now ordering vaccines, we will pull every lever to get pediatricians across Florida vaccines as quickly as possible. This is an encouraging first step, and we urge the state to order vaccines for its state and local health departments, so that all Florida parents have the opportunity to get their children vaccinated,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to McClatchy.
The FDA granted emergency use authorization of the coronavirus vaccine for children between six months and 5 years of age.
“The agency determined that the known and potential benefits of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks in the pediatric populations authorized for use for each vaccine,” the FDA said in a statement.
An independent panel advising the Centers for Disease Control is expected to recommend use of the vaccines over the weekend. The CDC director will likely sign off on those recommendations by Sunday, which could possibly make the vaccines available across the country as early as Monday although Florida may have them delivered until the end of the month.
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