The Florida Department of Health, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, hit back at reports Friday that the governor had reversed his decision to not order vaccines for children ages 5 and under. The White House claimed DeSantis had reversed course and would allow health-care providers to order doses from the feds but the department said that was always the case. The department said they wouldn’t be ordering doses themselves because Florida doesn’t recommend the vaccine for healthy children—advice that dangerously goes against health professionals. Abstaining from the “cumbersome vaccine pre-ordering process” hasn’t prevented vaccines from coming to Florida, the department insisted, noting that they will be available at pharmacies and providers from next week. “NOTHING has ‘reversed’ or changed,” DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw wrote on Twitter. “The State of Florida is not placing any orders of covid shots for 0-5 year old babies & kids.” DeSantis brushed off his decision not to order doses, saying the COVID risk for children was just “media hysteria.”
