Florida is preparing to eliminate all vaccination mandates across the state, including those requiring schoolchildren to receive routine childhood vaccines that protect against dangerous and potentially fatal illnesses like Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria, measles, tetanus, RSV, and polio.
The announcement came Wednesday during a press conference with Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Governor Ron DeSantis.
“What I’m most excited about is an announcement that we’re making now, which is that the Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law—all of them, all of them, all of them, every last one of them,” Ladapo said. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”
Ladapo, who has long been criticized for his anti-vaccine stance and spreading false information, argued against the very concept of public health, claiming there is “no ethical basis” for vaccine requirements aimed at protecting vulnerable groups. He suggested that exposing newborns and immunocompromised people to vaccine-preventable diseases is simply “part of the experience of life.” He also went as far as to call mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, which were credited with saving millions of lives during the pandemic, “poison.”
If these plans move forward, Florida would become the only state in the U.S. without vaccination requirements for public school enrollment. Currently, states including Florida allow certain exemptions for non-medical reasons, but across the country, non-medical exemptions are at record levels. At the same time, kindergarten vaccination rates have fallen to around 92 percent—below the 95 percent threshold needed to stop community outbreaks.
During the event, DeSantis noted that while some of the rollbacks could be carried out directly by Ladapo, “the rest would require changes from the legislature.”
The move comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the most prominent figures in the anti-vaccine movement, now serves as the nation’s top health official. Since stepping into the role of secretary of health and human services, Kennedy has worked aggressively to undermine vaccines, spread misinformation, and weaken federal access and recommendations around immunization.
The timing of Florida’s plan is especially notable, as this year has already seen the largest measles outbreak since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000. U.S. cases have reached a 33-year high, and two otherwise-healthy school-aged children in Texas died from the infection.
