Florida will move to end all statewide vaccine requirements, including those that require schoolchildren to get their shots.
The announcement was made by State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who is known to be a longtime vaccine skeptic. He previously led efforts to push for a ban on fluoride in drinking water. His latest remarks were made during an event with Gov. Ron DeSantis, which shows the state aligning itself with the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.
Florida's Vaccine Mandates
Ladapo, speaking about the state's vaccine requirements, said that "every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery." He added that parents should have the right to choose what their children put inside their bodies.
The situation comes as Florida has a mix of immunization requirements for kids entering schools and colleges, including shots for measles, polio, and chickenpox. The state does have some exemptions, and the latest data shows that roughly 89% of students who enter kindergarten are immunized, according to Politico.
At the height of the health crisis, the Florida governor championed what he called a "medical freedom" agenda. This included scrapping mask mandates and prohibiting employers from requiring potential employees to be vaccinated before being hired.
The Republican lawmaker also pushed a law that banned "vaccine passports" from being utilized by businesses across the state, including cruise lines. On Wednesday, DeSantis said he supported Ladapo's efforts, which will require the state Department of Health to take action.
The governor said that state lawmakers would soon look into developing a legislative package that would end any remaining mandates across the state. Currently, all 50 states in the country have had school immunization requirements since the start of the 1980s, CNN reported.
Exemptions to Mandatory Shots
Additionally, all states allow medical exemptions from school vaccine mandates, and the majority of these also have exemptions for personal or religious beliefs. In the past few years, exemption rates have been increasing, with a record number of new kindergarten students skipping vaccines in the 2024-25 school year.
Last school year, Florida's school vaccine exemption rate was roughly 5%, which was higher than the national average. The data was taken from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and showed that nearly all were for non-medical reasons.
On the other hand, renowned pediatrician and vaccine expert Paul Offit said that it is a "dangerous time" to be a child in the U.S. right now. He argued that it would be a difficult endeavor to rebuild these things back up, as per the Business Times.
