But Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said the state is going to issue separate guidance urging parents not to vaccinate their kids. Ladapo did not say when that guidance would become official and provided few additional details.
Florida would become the first state to break from the CDC on vaccines for children.
Several of the doctors and scientists on DeSantis’ panel shared unproven concerns about the safety of the vaccine for kids.
Children vaccinated against Covid-19 are less likely to be hospitalized for Covid-19 infections than children who are unvaccinated, recent data has shown.
Vaccinated grade schoolers are nearly half as likely to have a Covid-19 case that resulted in care at an urgent care clinic or emergency room compared with children who were unvaccinated, according to a large study funded by the CDC.
Almost 4.5 million children have had Covid just since the beginning of January.
Children infected by Covid-19 can develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome weeks later. This rare disease can lead to dangerous complications, causing parts of the body to become inflamed. MIS-C can affect major organs including the kidneys, brain, lungs and heart.
The vaccine is not yet available for children under the age of 5. About 25% of Florida’s eligible child population is vaccinated, compared to 30% nationally.
Ladapo recently issued new guidance that discouraged private businesses from requiring their employees wear masks.
CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.