The chair of a congressional committee on Wednesday berated Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo for being the only state in the country to not pre-order COVID-19 vaccines for children under five.
“The steps Governor DeSantis has taken to impede access to lifesaving coronavirus vaccines for Florida’s young children have made it harder for parents across the state to get their children vaccinated, and his promotion of anti-vaccine misinformation is making it harder for parents to make fully informed decisions on how best to protect children’s health,” said U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., who chairs the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.
Ladapo, who appeared Tuesday before the subcommittee, defended Florida’s opposition to COVID-19 vaccines for young children as a fact-based choice.
The briefing came just days after Florida emerged as the only state in the country not to pre-order the vaccine for toddlers.
Ladapo said the decision was made in agreement with DeSantis. He and the governor believed there was “very little demand” for it and remain “affirmatively against” it, despite the recommendation of federal health experts.
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“In Florida, we don’t recommend” coronavirus vaccines for children under 18, Ladapo told lawmakers according to a press release issued by the committee.
Ladapo further asserted there is “little data” proving the vaccine is beneficial to young children and that they are at “low risk” if infected with the virus.
Of the 75,096 COVID-19 deaths tallied in Florida, only 46 are categorized under the age of 16, according to the Florida Department of Health’s latest data.
Ladapo’s remarks drew the ire of Clyburn, who’s led the subcommittee since its inception. Congress established the subcommittee in 2020 to examine the pandemic and the nation’s response.
“I urge the governor to abandon this dangerous, anti-scientific approach, and I strongly encourage all parents of young children to provide them with the lifesaving protection of coronavirus vaccines as soon as possible,” Clyburn said.
In response to Clyburn, Ladapo on Wedndeday took issue with subcommittee’s portrayal of the congressional briefing. In a statement, he accused Clyburn and the subcommittee of mischaracterizing the conversation and using it as a “launching pad” for political attacks.
Ladapo later published a document outlining his positions and disputing assertions that Florida attempted to limit vaccine access. Pre-ordering the vaccine, he contended, is an “unnecessary relic” from a time when supply was low and demand was high, particularly among elderly populations.
“It is unfortunate that staff used this education meeting as a launching pad for politically charged attacks,” Ladapo said.
Among other critiques, the subcommittee lamented that Florida did not allow doctors and healthcare providers to pre-order the vaccine via the state until after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted it emergency use authorization.
The FDA’s vaccine advisers recommended the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for little kids on June 15. The panel of outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under 5. They are the last age group in the U.S. without access to COVID-19 vaccines and many parents have been eager to protect their little children. The CDC advisors also recommended the vaccines.
Ladapo acknowledged its decision and defended it. He further acknowledged that forgoing the pre-order period may have resulted in a delay in the vaccine’s statewide distribution.
“We don’t believe it should be offered at all and we’ve communicated that to Floridians,” Ladapo purportedly said.
Tuesday’s briefing marks Florida’s latest resistance to federal health guidance and leaders. While doctors may now order the vaccine, Florida will not support the distribution effort. Nor will they allow county health departments to administer it.
The subcommittee reported that more than 1.1 million children under five receive primary care at county health departments in Florida. Without the cooperation of county health departments, roughly 33,000 young children will need to seek vaccines elsewhere.
Democratic officials and even the White House fear the move will disproportionately harm poor, rural and minority children.
Ladapo began leading Florida’s Department of Health in early 2022. A Harvard graduate, he’s faced ongoing criticism over a slew of issues — issuing an order preventing schools from quarantining students exposed to COVID-19 and refusing to wear a mask in the office of a senator who was receiving cancer treatments, among others situations.
The governor’s office, though, has repeatedly pointed to Ladapo’s medical degree and Ph.D. from Harvard University and his experience as a clinical researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles studying obesity and cardiac disease.
The only statutory requirement for surgeon general, a position created in 2007 by then-GOP Gov. Charlie Crist, is that the person be a physician licensed under state law with “advanced training or extensive experience in public health administration.”
Jason Delgado is a reporter for the USA Today Network-Florida. He’s based in Tallahassee. Reach him at JDelgado@gannett.com
