Overview:
Florida leaders announced plans to repeal all childhood vaccine mandates, sparking national controversy over public health and medical freedom.
In a partnership with Greg DeSantis and the Florida Department of Health, the state will begin working to repeal all childhood vaccines.
This was announced in a press conference on Wednesday when Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced that the state will work to eliminate all vaccine mandates.
“All of them. All of them, “Ladapo said during a news conference as the crowd erupted in applause. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.” He went on to say that forcing vaccine mandates is both “wrong” and “immoral”.
“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? Lapado said. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body? I don’t have that right.
Currently Florida requires a variety of vaccines for PreK- 12 grade that include everything from DTaP to HepB.
Dr. Robert Malone who was recently appointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine committee, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he spoke to Ladapo on Tuesday and praised him for being a “measured scientist who is on fire to change the system for the better”.
This is not the first time Ladapo has railed against vaccines in the state , with advising those under 65 should not get the mRNA Covid vaccine. In addition, during a 2024 measles outbreak in the state he gave guidance that parents should make the decision whether to send their children to school.
“You want to put whatever different vaccines in your body, God bless you. I hope you make an informed decision,” Ladapo said. “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.”
Others in the scientific committee are horrified especially as top leadership of the CDC resigned in wake of Robert H. Kennedy’s seemingly take over of the institution. “The idea that children would be allowed to go to school unvaccinated is absolutely frightening,” said Dr. Richard Besser, a former acting director Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter), Gov. Greg DeSantis praised Lapado’s moves as the national model for “medical freedom.”
“Florida has become the national model for medical freedom. Today we established the Florida Make America Healthy Again Commission to recommend state-level integrations of MAHA principles and expanded protections for parental choice regarding childhood vaccines. Chaired by First Lady @CaseyDeSantis and Lt. Governor @JayCollinsFL, the MAHA Commission also includes “@FLSurgeonGen, state agency heads in health and human services, and experts in the fields of nutrition, vaccine safety, and family practice. We have worked to empower Floridians to make the best decisions for their families’ health, and the Florida MAHA Commission will continue advancing this mission.
Currently, Florida requires the following vaccinations for childcare and school-based children.
Childcare and/or Family Daycare
- Diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP)
- Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)
- Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
- Varicella (chickenpox)
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20)
- Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Preschool Entry
- DTaP
- IPV
- MMR
- Varicella
- Hib
- Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20)
- Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Kindergarten through 12th Grade
- Four or five doses of DTaP
- Four or five doses of IPV
- Two doses of MMR
- Three doses of Hep B
- One Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap)
- Two doses of Varicella (kindergarten effective with 2008–2009 school year, then an additional grade is added each year thereafter). Varicella vaccine is not required if there is a history of varicella disease documented by the health care provider.
Additional Requirements: 7th Grade
In addition to compliance with all other immunization requirements, children entering, attending, or transferring to the 7th grade in Florida schools must complete the following:
- One Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap)
