Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) reacted this week to a CDC panel’s recommendation to include the coronavirus vaccination in the Vaccines for Children program.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously recommended that children six months and older and adults receive a coronavirus vaccination and boosters if they are eligible.
“There’s been a lot of questions to our office about the CDC potentially adding COVID vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule,” DeSantis said. “And I know a lot of parents are concerned about that because if that’s on the immunization schedule, the fear is that schools could potentially mandate your child to get a COVID shot, even if that’s not something that you want to do. So I just want to let everyone be clear, as long as I’m around, and as long as I’m kicking and screaming, there will be no COVID shot mandates for your kids.”
“That is your decision. That is your decision to make as a parent,” he continued. “These are new shots. I get a kick out of it when people kind of compare it to MMR and stuff, things that have been around for decades and decades. So parents, by and large, most parents in Florida have opted against doing these booster shots for … the young kids. The Surgeon General of Florida does not recommend this for young kids, for kids under under 18. And basically, his reason for that [is] there’s not really been a proven benefit for that … but it’s a free state, parents can make the other decision if that’s what they want. The important thing is, is that school districts are not mandating this choice.”
DeSantis’ comments came after Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD, stated earlier this month that the state now advises against giving males aged 18 to 39 mRNA coronavirus vaccinations, citing an increased risk of cardiac-related mortality.
The declaration from Ladapo comes at the end of an investigation undertaken by the Florida Department of Health utilizing a self-controlled case series, a technique used to evaluate vaccination safety, according to the state.