Florida is moving to eliminate all vaccine mandates in the state, including those for schoolchildren.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the plan on Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference near Tampa, Ladapo called mandates “immoral” and compared them to slavery.
“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body? I don’t have that right,” he said. “Your body is a gift from God.”
Florida currently requires vaccinations for students attending public schools, including protection against measles, mumps, chickenpox, hepatitis B and polio. Ladapo said that the state is not banning vaccinations and said he hopes residents make “informed decisions” about which vaccines to receive.
Ladapo has a history of challenging vaccines‘ effectiveness, previously suggesting that people under 65 avoid getting vaccinated against COVID and advocating parental discretion during a 2024 measles outbreak. His comments have drawn criticism from public health officials.
The announcement coincides with the creation of Florida’s Make America Healthy Again commission, which will recommend that the state adopt the same initiatives as those pushed by President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
On Wednesday, a coalition of Democratic-led states, including Washington, Oregon, and California, announced plans to go the opposite direction, saying they would create a health alliance that would follow the guidance of national medical organizations, and not the federal government, on questions of public health. These states cited concerns with the direction of the CDC under Trump and Kennedy.
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Florida’s Democratic lawmakers in Florida criticized the decision to end mandatory vaccinations, calling the decision “reckless.”
“Today is a great day for chickenpox, measles, and polio in Florida,” wrote State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith on X.
“We require vaccines because they keep all kids, schools, and communities safe,” added Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “Florida has seen spikes in infectious diseases like measles, diseases we had virtually eliminated before Ladapo took office. This decision… makes Floridians less safe.”
