The FDA recently approved the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months to 5 years. In the lead up to this, states were given the opportunity to pre-order vaccines from the federal government, and every state but Florida did so.

Due to negative publicity, on Friday, June 17, 2022, Florida finally launched a portal for physicians and hospitals to order the pediatric COVID-19 vaccines.

Governor Ron DeSantis drives decisions like this in Florida, and he is quite beholden to the anti-vaccine portion of his political base, who often prefer unproven and discredited treatments over efficacious vaccinations. Of course, he and other Republican leaders are overwhelmingly vaccinated.

This is a good example that it is still possible and worthwhile to pressure Governor DeSantis and other Republican politicians to act in the interests of the people. As another example, in September 2021, after enormous criticism, Florida applied for $820 million of federal food relief for needy families that every other state had enrolled in. This resulted in millions of Florida families getting a one-time debit card to purchase several hundred dollars of groceries.

As further examples, Governor DeSantis recently vetoed the anti-solar net metering bill that would have reduced Floridians' compensation for selling solar energy back to their power companies, and he did a line-item veto on a provision to punish 12 Florida school districts for implementing mask mandates that would otherwise have prevented each district from seeking millions of dollars in supplemental funding.

Of course, Governor DeSantis has overwhelming autocratic tendencies and needs to be voted out in November 2022, but in the interim we should continue to seek whatever relief that we can for the Floridian people.

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Notes:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/16/florida-is-the-only-state-that-hasnt-ordered-covid-vaccines-for-kids-under-5.html

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/06/17/world/covid-19-mandates-vaccine-cases

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/09/21/in-reversal-florida-to-apply-for-820-million-in-food-aid/

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/04/27/desantis-vetoes-net-metering-bill-leaving-solar-energy-as-is-in-florida/

https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2022/06/02/desantis-overrules-lawmakers-rejects-penalties-for-school-mask-mandates/

Letters from a Floridian

Florida didn't order pediatric COVID-19…