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STAT: Florida’s Decision on COVID Vaccines for Healthy Kids Adds to Confusion and Distrust

From STAT: Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced Monday that the state will recommend that healthy children not be vaccinated against Covid-19, further muddying already roiling waters over Covid-19 vaccination for kids. Ladapo’s decision is unlikely to interfere with the efforts of parents who want to have their children vaccinated, experts told STAT. But they added it will likely dissuade some parents who have been on the fence. “There are obviously a lot of pediatricians and pediatric care providers in Florida who are very eager to vaccinate kids over 5. And hopefully that signal is loud — louder than this,” said Alison Buttenheim, an associate professor of nursing and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania who works on vaccine acceptance. “But if you’re looking for a reason to pass on this vaccine, this is a really good one to latch onto.” Ladapo announced Florida’s recommendation against vaccination for healthy children after a roundtable discussion attended by Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as by a number of people who have been vocal opponents of Covid containment efforts, including Stanford University health economist Jay Bhattacharya, sports medicine physician Tracy Høeg, and Robert Malone, a former researcher who was involved in the early development of mRNA technology but who has actively campaigned against use of the mRNA Covid vaccines. Read More @ STAT News