DeSantis’ Actions Will Only Prolong the Pandemic and Make It Easier for Kids to Get Sick
Last week, news broke that Florida was the only state to not pre-order vaccines for young children, passing the deadline and delaying the availability of shots to children in the state. Over the past few years, it’s become clear that DeSantis will stop at nothing to politicize COVID-19 by spreading misinformation about vaccines, encouraging people to not vaccinate their children, and lying about the long-term devastating health effects of COVID-19.
The Biden White House, however, announced that pediatricians in Florida would be allowed to order vaccines themselves. Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, parents can make sure their children can stay safe and protected.
Below are editorials from over the weekend calling DeSantis out for his blatant political hypocrisy and his inability to see past his own ambitions in order to protect the most vulnerable in his state:
South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial: On Kids’ Vaccines, DeSantis Is Wrong, but Never in Doubt. “It’s an absolute disgrace for Florida to be the only one of 50 states that did not preorder Pfizer and Moderna mRNA coronavirus vaccines for children ages 6 months to 5 years, once it became apparent that federal regulators would approve and recommend them. The preorder deadline passed a week ago, June 14. Florida delayed the availability of shots to children whose parents want them. President Joe Biden, to his credit, moved swiftly to circumvent that obstacle.” [South Florida Sun Sentinel, 6/20/22]
Tampa Bay Times Editorial: Gov. DeSantis’ Hypocrisy on Parental Rights. “This is another dumb move by a governor and the unfit surgeon general he appointed that emboldens the COVID quackery that is prolonging this crisis. In a statement late Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health said it didn’t preorder because it doesn’t recommend vaccines for healthy children, a ridiculous position that contradicts federal health guidelines that recommend everyone age 5 and up get vaccinated. It’s any wonder that anyone takes the department’s advice at all.” [Tampa Bay Times, 6/17/22]
Miami Herald Editorial: Florida’s Flip-Flop on COVID Vaccines for Kids Under 5 Was the Right Move — For the Wrong Reasons. “The latest example of this GOP-driven hypocrisy was Florida’s refusal to pre-order COVID vaccines for the state’s youngest children, those under 5. For several days, Florida was the only state in the nation not ordering the vaccines. Forty-nine other states made the federal deadline to pre-order vaccines. Florida was the outlier — and fast becoming a pariah. On Friday, amid increasing condemnation of our state, the White House announced that Gov. Ron DeSantis had relented. Florida would now allow healthcare providers to order the vaccines.” [Miami Herald, 6/18/22]
Washington Post Editorial: Gov. Ron DeSantis Abandons Florida Children. “In an astoundingly callous move, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s Department of Health has refused to put in an order with the federal government for a supply of the pediatric vaccines for children under 5, leaving pediatricians and parents to scramble on their own. The deadline for placing a preorder was Tuesday, and the 49 other states met the cutoff. The department said in a statement that it “does not recommend” the shot “for all children,” but, after protests, announced on Friday that it would begin accepting orders for shots from doctors and health-care providers. The department is led by state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, a DeSantis appointee who has been an outspoken skeptic of coronavirus vaccines.” [Washington Post, 6/18/22]