Covid-19 vaccine site for infants, toddlers opens July 1

Sen. Bracy: “Getting your child vaccinated should not be a political decision; it should be a parental decision.”

State Sen. Bracy partnered with the Roth JCC to ensure that children under 5 could get vaccinated against Covid-19.

At a press conference Thursday, Democratic state Senator Randolph Bracy announced that his office was teaming up with the Roth Jewish Community Center in Maitland to provide a Covid-19 vaccine site for children 6 months and older. Beginning July 1, vaccines will be administered there on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“I personally don’t have a position on whether children should be vaccinated," Bracy said at his press conference, drawing on the language of the pro-choice movement as he spoke. Bracy is running for Val Demings' open seat in District 10 in Congress.

"What I do believe is that getting your child vaccinated should not be a political decision. It should be a parental decision. This is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. If a parent wants to get their child vaccinated, okay. If they don’t, that is okay too. But I don’t believe that we should be playing politics with children’s health and take away the parents’ right to choose."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its recommendation that children 6 months and older get vaccinated against Covid-19 on June 18. But it’s been difficult to find a pediatrician’s office, medical center or even a pharmacy that's administering vaccines to the youngest children cleared to receive them, as VoxPopuli reported earlier this week.

That’s largely because Florida opted not to pre-order vaccines from the federal government — the only state out of 50 not to.

“Gov. DeSantis continues to defend his decision to be the only state not to pre-order Covid vaccines for kids under 5,” Bracy said during his press conference. “And the governor already said there will not be any state programs for children getting the vaccines.”

Fortunately, Orange County parents now have at least one place they know they can get the Covid-19 vaccine for their kids ahead of camps, summer travel, and, come August, preschool.

__________________________________

Roth Jewish Community Center

851 N. Maitland Ave.

Maitland, FL32751

Vaccines: Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.