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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — Florida is becoming the first state in the nation to recommend healthy children not get a COVID-19 vaccine, which contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The announcement came from Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on Monday during a roundtable event organized by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that featured a group of doctors who criticized coronavirus lockdowns and mandate policies.
“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 at the end of the roundtable discussion.
It was not immediately clear when the state would release its health guidance.
“We’re kind of scraping at the bottom of the barrel, particularly with healthy kids, in terms of actually being able to quantify with any accuracy and any confidence the even potential of benefit,” he added.
The CDC has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages five to 17. That agency recommends vaccinating children. Vaccines for children younger than 5 have not yet been approved.
Although elderly people are more at risk of dying from the virus than children, the CDC website states COVID-19 is one of the top 10 causes of death for children aged 5 to 11.
About two million children between the ages of 5 and 11 have contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic started in early 2020, according to the CDC>
Forty-two children under the age of 16 have died of COVID-19 in Florida, according to state Department of Health statistics. Another 481 individuals ages 16 to 29 have died of COVID-19 in the state.
Late last month, Ladapo and DeSantis announced new virus policy recommendations that discouraged mask-wearing and directed physicians to exercise their own judgment when treating virus patients, including the use of emerging treatments and off-label medications.
The Florida state Senate confirmed Ladapo as surgeon general despite criticism that his virus health policy is too aligned with the anti-lockdown and mandate politics of DeSantis.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)