Once again Florida is out in front on COVID, this time telling Floridians, it’s time to leave the children alone.

Defying guidance from the nation’s top infectious disease and pediatric health experts, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced Monday that the state will become the first to recommend that healthy kids not get vaccinated for COVID-19.

Ladapo made the announcement at the end of a roundtable discussion in West Palm Beach that Gov. Ron DeSantis convened to discuss “failures” in the response to COVID-19. The group of experts downplayed the importance of the vaccine for children, with some saying the benefits of vaccination do not outweigh the risks.

Florida “is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children,” Ladapo said, without elaborating on the details or rationale for the forthcoming guidance from the state Department of Health.

The move rejects the guidance issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that all children ages 5 to 7 should be vaccinated. Read more