White House press secretary Jen Psaki condemned Florida’s new recommendation against vaccinating healthy young children on Monday, calling the idea a conspiracy theory and saying it is “absolutely not” a good policy.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo advised against administering COVID-19 vaccines to healthy children earlier on Monday, making the Sunshine State the first to counter federal health experts and issue such a recommendation. Ladapo was joined by Gov. Ron DeSantis to make the announcement, which led to Psaki being asked if she agreed with the idea.
FLORIDA’S TOP DOCTOR RECOMMENDS AGAINST COVID-10 VACCINES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
“Absolutely not,” she said. “We know the science. We know the data and what works and what the most effective steps are in protecting people of a range of ages from hospitalization and even death. The FDA and CDC have already weighed in on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines for those 5 and older.”
The forthcoming guidance from Florida health officials would run counter to what health officials in the Biden administration, as well as many doctors and public health experts, have been telling parents since fall 2021 when the Pfizer vaccine was deemed safe for children as young as 5 years old.
“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 on Monday, without going into specifics.
Healthy children are less likely than older adults, especially those with underlying health conditions, to experience severe illness due to COVID-19 infection. However, the Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that parents vaccinate their children as soon as they are eligible.
Psaki said that vaccines are vetted through a transparent process so that parents can have confidence about their safety.
“We also know through the data that unvaccinated teenagers are three times as likely to be hospitalized if they get COVID than vaccinated teachers,” she said. “It’s deeply disturbing that there are politicians peddling conspiracy theories out there and casting doubt on vaccinations when it is our best tool against the virus.”
DeSantis has made national headlines for defying COVID-19 policies, refusing to implement mask and vaccine mandates. The Florida governor has unveiled a Twitter hashtag, #BuckTheCDC, and sells “Fauci can pound sand” flip flops on his campaign website. The moves have drawn vilification from the Left, with some dubbing him “DeathSantis.”
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The Pfizer vaccine was deemed safe for children by the FDA’s independent panel of vaccine experts as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But DeSantis said that endorsement from public health authorities may not be enough to assuage parents wary of vaccinating their young children.
“This discussion has crystallized a lot of things I think we’ve seen,” DeSantis said. “You have this lack of trust in the medical establishment and in the CDC and the politicization of those institutions, and that’s not going to bode well for us as a society going forward.”
