They criticize statements by the Florida Director of Health about not vaccinating children against covid-19
Dr. Joseph Ladapo, CEO of Florida Health Services, on Monday expressed his desire to issue as a state representative a statement urging parents and caregivers of minors not to vaccinate their children against Covid-19.
Given this fact, health experts have begun to express the dangers that the people of the state of Florida and the country, in general, would experience if they decide to abide by such a statement.
" Totally irresponsible and without any support," was the comment issued by Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Center for Vaccine Education at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, before Ladapo's statements. He also added that:
“Although it is true that children are less likely to be infected and it is true that children are less likely to be seriously infected, they can still be infected and they can still be seriously infected.”
Vaccines against Covid-19 are regulated for children from the age of five in the United States. Florida would be the first state to break with this prevention measure throughout the country, although it is true that after the wave of the Omicron variant, the US has begun to relax the measures. Similarly, Dr. Paul Offit added:
"And if you have a vaccine that's safe, and it's effective, which this one is, then you get it. What the CEO of Florida Health Services didn't do was explain himself in any way. What possible reason could he have for not give this vaccine to children and put them in a position where they have to suffer from this disease?”
The Governor of Florida speaks out
Ron DeSantis, governor of the state of Florida, expressed Monday afternoon that Ladapo was only concerned that people see mandatory vaccination, commenting: "We are not only going to follow the CDC in the state of Florida," DeSantis said. "We're going to do our own thing."
For its part, the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics also weighed in on this comment dispute, adding that they disagreed on this entire decision. Dr. Lisa Gwynn, president of the Florida chapter, has issued a statement in this regard in which she stated:
“The [Florida] Surgeon General’s comments today misrepresent the benefits of the vaccine, which has been shown to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations, and long-term symptoms from COVID-19 in children and adolescents.”
In the same order of ideas, Dr. Gwynn adds in said letter:
“The evidence is clear: that when people are vaccinated, they are significantly less likely to get seriously ill and need hospital care. There is a broad consensus among medical and public health experts about the life-saving benefits of this vaccine."
Obvious findings
It is well known that children vaccinated against Covid-19 have less risk of being infected and, in addition, they remain with a very low probability of being hospitalized if they show symptoms of the disease. This was mostly seen in school-age children.
It is important to note that, in the state of Florida, 25% of the child population that is within the age range to be vaccinated is already immunized.
This percentage, then, represents a lower risk for multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which occurs in children after suffering from Covid-19, although studies show that those vaccinated are likely to survive this rare disease.
Since last November, with the authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, 22 million American children have been fully vaccinated. At the national level, only 30% of the general population is vaccinated. For its part, in Florida 25% of the eligible child population is already immunized.