Forty-nine states have requested vaccines for children under 5 from the federal government. Florida is the only state that didn't sign up, according to the Miami Herald.
Florida's department of health press secretary Jeremy Redfern told the Herald the distribution process is "convoluted" and "the federal government has a track record of developing inconsistent and unsustainable COVID-19 policies."
The state's youngest population — which recent census data estimates at more than 1,150,000 children 5 and under — still have options. Although the state missed the June 14 preorder deadline, pharmacies such as CVS are set to receive the vaccine once it's available, according to Politico.
On June 17, the FDA authorized both Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines for the youngest population two days after an independent panel voted 21-0 recommending them. Before infants as young as 6 months can get their first shot, the CDC has to sign off. Pending that last step, children could be inoculated as soon as June 21.
The U.S. has arranged more than 100 children's hospitals, pop-up clinics at children's museums, pediatricians' offices and health centers to administer the vaccine.