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Florida Is the Only State That Hasn’t Preordered COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids Under 5

Florida is reportedly the only state to have missed the deadline to preorder the vaccines, which are expected to be approved this weekend.

Every state except Florida has preordered COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 from the federal government, two unnamed U.S. government sources told the Miami Herald. Florida is the only state that missed Tuesday’s deadline to preorder the pediatric vaccines, which are expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as early as this weekend, the government sources said. Once approved, the preordered pediatric vaccines will be distributed in about a week and a half, and some places could have shots available as soon as Monday. This guarantees delayed access for Florida parents, who may have to rely on community health centers or federal pharmacy chains that also preordered vaccines directly from the government. “Without Florida ordering vaccines, pediatricians and children’s hospitals will initially be without vaccines, and Florida kids will be severely limited in their ability to get vaccinated,” one of the government sources told the Miami Herald. When reached for comment, the Florida Department of Health and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office didn’t immediately respond.