DeSantis says Florida is against vaccines for young children

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Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday railed against providing Covid-19 vaccines to young children, saying Florida will not provide state programs to administer vaccinations for toddlers or infants.

DeSantis, speaking at a press conference in Miami, said that Covid-19 vaccines have not gone through enough testing and clinical trials to determine that they are effective and added that kids are least likely to suffer serious health consequences from Covid.

“I would say we are affirmatively against the Covid vaccine for young kids,” DeSantis said. “These are the people who have zero risk of getting anything.”

Florida is the only state in the nation not to order fresh doses of the vaccine for children ahead of Wednesday’s decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow two Covid vaccines to be administered to children under 5 years old. The approval fast tracks the vaccine for distribution and kids could start receiving shots as soon as Tuesday.

DeSantis told reporters that the FDA board made its decision to pacify parent’s fears about the virus.

DeSantis on Thursday also stressed that the state’s decision not to seek help from the federal government to distribute doses earmarked for kids does not mean the state has banned use of the vaccine.

“You are free to choose — that’s not the issue,” he said.