Florida to Become First State to Eliminate Vaccine Mandates

Florida is working to remove all childhood vaccine mandates in the state.

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced during a press conference hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis that every vaccine requirement in Florida schools will be repealed.

The proposal would lift mandates on vaccinations against diseases including measles, polio, hepatitis B and chickenpox — which have been required to attend public schools for decades.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo, a longtime critic of vaccines, said during the press conference.

“Who am I as a government or anyone else, who am I as a man standing here now, to tell you what you should put in your body?” he continued. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body? I don’t have that right.”

Ladapo defended his decision and claimed that the move would be a victory for “parental choice” and “bodily autonomy,” noting that the state is not banning vaccinations and that those who want to protect themselves can do so.

“You want to put whatever different vaccines in your body, God bless you. I hope you make an informed decision,” he explained. “You don’t want to put whatever vaccines in your body, God bless you. I hope you make an informed decision. That’s how it should be.”

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The announcement has since been met with backlash.

Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani — who is running for Orlando mayor — said that getting rid of vaccines “is reckless and dangerous” and could quickly lead to outbreaks of preventable disease. “This is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State,” she wrote on X.

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell also slammed the announcement and called the plan “stunningly reckless.”

“DeSantis wants to trade the health of our kids for media headlines,” she said in a statement. “If this happened, Florida would be welcoming back child-killers like polio and measles with open arms.”

Ladapo has been criticized for his stance on vaccines in the past, and in 2022, announced he would issue guidance making Florida “the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children.”

Ladapo and DeSantis — who appointed him to the role — attempted to justify this position by citing concerns about the potential health risks of the COVID-19 vaccine, despite multiple studies proving that it is entirely safe for children.

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Wednesday’s announcement comes shortly after DeSantis revealed the establishment of the Florida Make America Healthy Again commission, which will recommend state-level integration of President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial Make America Healthy Again effort.

“The Florida MAHA commission will prioritize reforms that empower Floridians, reduce regulatory burdens and hold actors accountable for their conduct, while fostering incentives for healthy living and innovation,” the governor said.