Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spokesperson blasted CNN anchor Bill Weir for attacking Florida's COVID-19 policies. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., spokesperson Christina Pushaw slammed CNN anchor Bill Weir for mocking Florida’s government over not pushing COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of five.
On Wednesday, the CNN anchor and chief climate correspondent did some editorializing on Twitter in an attempt to bad mouth Florida lawmakers’ decision to not preorder COVID-19 vaccines for very young children, while other states did.
Weir tweeted, "49 states preordered COVID vaccines for kids under 5 so they’ll be ready as soon as there is FDA approval. Take a guess which state did not."
Weir subsequently linked to an article from the Miami Herald, which reported that "Florida missed a Tuesday deadline to request delivery of COVID-19 pediatric vaccines for children under 5, guaranteeing a delay in access for parents across the state, according to two U.S. government sources."
Florida's state government has been the subject of negative headlines regarding its COVID-19 policies.
The piece also indicated that "All other 49 states placed pre-orders" for the vaccines and that Florida hospitals and health centers "will not have access during this time and will remain without supply until Florida places an order."
DeSantis's spokesperson shot back a crippling response to Weir’s tweet. "The state everyone is moving to?" Pushaw asked, invoking the reality that despite media attacks, Florida is one of the country’s hottest spots for domestic migration.
In addition, the state broke tourism records in 2021. DeSantis claimed in February that Florida received 7% more visitors in the fourth quarter of 2021 than in the fourth quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic.
Weir’s original remark appeared to have some thinly-veiled contempt for the state, as the media have often negatively covered Governor DeSantis’s lockdown and restriction-free approach to handling COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
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The media have also ignored the successes that the hands-off approach by DeSantis has achieved in protecting the state’s residents from the pandemic.
COVID-19 vaccines for children five-years-old and younger were recently approved for use by the FDA. ((AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File))
Elsewhere in the Twitter thread, Pushaw pushed back a bit more on Weir’s claim. In response to one user’s comment they didn’t understand why parents would vaccinate kids who either suffered mild symptoms from COVID-19 or were "asymptomatic," Pushaw stated, "Guidance from @FLSurgeonGen [Florida’s Surgeon General] would recommend against it!"
The article Weir originally shared featured a quote from Florida Department of Health press secretary Jeremy Redfern who clarified that "we chose not to participate in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine when the Department does not recommend it for all children." Redfern added context that Florida’s doctors aren’t seeking these vaccines.
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Florida has gained notoriety for being one of the freest states in the country regarding COVID-19 restrictions. (iStock)
He stated, "Doctors can order vaccines if they are in need, and there are currently no orders in the Department’s ordering system for the COVID-19 vaccine for this age group."