Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo made the announcement on March 7 during a roundtable discussion titled "The Curtain Close on COVID Theater." The event, which was organized by Gov. Ron DeSantis, featured several doctors who were critical of COVID-19 vaccines and mandates.
"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 at the end of the event. "We're kind of scraping at the bottom of the barrel, particularly with healthy kids, in terms of actually being able to quantify with any accuracy and any confidence the even potential of benefit."
DeSantis told reporters at a news conference held on the same day: "I think what Florida's guidance reflects is the latest research." He added that healthy children are at low risk for the virus, citing studies that show the shots' "very little benefit" for children.
The Sunshine State's decision to recommend against COVID-19 vaccines for children is contrary to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) stance. The public health agency claims that children can become "very sick" from COVID-19, with complications from infection possibly leading to death. However, children have a very high rate of survival from a COVID-19 infection and the vaccines themselves have caused children more harm than good.
Throughout the pandemic, Florida has stood out among all 50 states in the U.S. for its refusal to implement medical tyranny. Whereas other areas implemented lockdowns and other COVID-19 mandates, the Sunshine State went against the grain.
"Florida is a free state. We reject the biomedical security state that curtails liberty, ruins livelihoods and divides society. We will protect the rights of individuals to live their lives free from the yoke of restrictions and mandates," DeSantis said during his State of the State Address in January 2022. (Related: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says vaccine passports are a big failure.)
Florida consistently denouncing draconian COVID mandates
In late February 2022, DeSantis and Ladapo issued new guidance dubbed "Buck the CDC." The recommendations emphasized a shift away from draconian COVID-19 restrictions toward health freedom.
The guidance called for an end to "corporate masking," advising against "wearing facial coverings in a community setting." It added that "Floridians should not be forced to wear a mask at work." Isolation guidelines for COVID-positive Floridian adults and children should be capped to five days as per the guidance.
The state's "Buck the CDC" guidelines also reiterated the right to try other COVID-19 treatments, such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin for both patients and doctors. "Practitioners have the flexibility to treat patients with off-label prescriptions if they determine it could help the patient and [if] it is something the patient would like to try," it said.
"I still remember very clearly when people – including a lot of people with a lot of degrees – telling us '15 days to stop the spread.' These people had no idea what they were talking about," said Ladapo. The Florida surgeon general added that people in power "want us to forget that their choices were the wrong choices that basically led to no appreciable benefit."
The White House responded to the top Florida health official's announcement during a Washington, D.C. media briefing on the same day.
"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 and the best tool to prevent even teenagers from being hospitalized," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
More related stories:
Florida schools barred from mandating Covid-19 vaccines.
What we know about Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo.
Florida lawmakers pass bill banning vaccine passports in the state.
Florida governor calls for special session to block mask and vaccine mandates.
Florida COVID cases have plunged 88% in the past six weeks with NO MANDATES.
Watch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chiding students for wearing face masks below.
This video is from the Mindy channel on Brighteon.com.
VaccineWars.com has more about states like Florida eschewing CDC guidance on COVID-19 vaccines for children.
Sources include:
FLGov.com 2 [PDF]
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