Florida Moves to Eliminate All Vaccine Mandates

Florida Moves to Eliminate All Vaccine Mandates

Florida is set to become the first state in the nation to eliminate every vaccine mandate, including those required for children to attend school.

This was declared by Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo in a public announcement on Wednesday alongside Governor Ron DeSantis.

Ladapo, who has long been a critic of federal and state vaccination requirements, used unusually stark language to describe the mandates.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” he said during a press event in Valrico. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body?”

Governor DeSantis echoed the sentiment, framing the move as part of a broader push to safeguard “medical freedom.” He argued that while some mandates could be rolled back administratively, others would need to be repealed by the legislature.

“Medical freedom is something we’ve got to be very conscientious about protecting,” DeSantis said.

The announcement immediately sparked an outcry from health professionals, who warned of catastrophic consequences if childhood vaccination rates decline. Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, called the plan a “major disaster,” warning of renewed outbreaks of diseases like measles and polio. Dr. Michael Osterholm, a leading infectious disease expert, described the move as “reckless,” while the American Medical Association said it would “undermine decades of public health progress” and endanger children and communities alike.

Democratic lawmakers in Florida also condemned the policy. House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said the governor was “trading the health of our kids for media headlines,” while Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando called the plan “reckless and dangerous.”

The initiative fits within a broader national shift among some political leaders toward “individual medical freedom,” a movement bolstered by federal officials like Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Still, Florida’s move stands alone in its scope, potentially dismantling a system of school vaccine requirements that experts credit with virtually eliminating deadly childhood diseases.

If Florida abandons vaccine mandates, will other states follow, and what would that mean for national disease control?