By Curt Anderson
Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. 鈥� Florida plans to become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates, a longtime cornerstone of public health policy for keeping schoolchildren and adults safe from infectious diseases.
State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who announced the decision Wednesday, cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as 鈥渋mmoral鈥� intrusions on people鈥檚 rights that hamper parents鈥� ability to make health decisions for their children.
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鈥淧eople have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions,鈥� Ladapo, who has frequently , said at a news conference in Valrico. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.鈥�
Florida鈥檚 move, a significant departure from decades of public policy and research that has shown vaccines to be safe and the most effective way to stop the spread of communicable diseases, especially among schoolchildren, is a notable embrace of the Trump administration鈥檚 agenda led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist.
Dr. Rana Alissa, chair of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said removing vaccines puts students and school staff at greater risk.
鈥淲hen everyone in a school is vaccinated, it is harder for diseases to spread and easier for everyone to continue learning and having fun,鈥� Alissa said in an email. 鈥淲hen children are sick and miss school, caregivers also miss work, which not only impacts those families but also the local economy.鈥�
Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is running for Orlando mayor, said in a social media post that scrapping vaccines 鈥渋s reckless and dangerous鈥� and could cause outbreaks of preventable disease.
鈥淭his is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State,鈥� Eskamani said on the social platform X.
at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention caused by Kennedy鈥檚 extensive restructuring and downsizing, the Democratic governors of Washington, Oregon and California announced Wednesday that to safeguard health policies, contending that the administration is politicizing public health decisions. The partnership plans to align immunization plans based on recommendations from respected national medical organizations, according to a joint statement from the states鈥� governors.
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Vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives globally over the past 50 years, the World Health Organization reported in 2024. The majority of those were infants and children.
鈥淰accines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable,鈥� said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.
In Florida, vaccine mandates for child day care facilities and public schools include shots for measles, chickenpox, hepatitis B, diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis, polio and other diseases, according to the state
Ladapo didn鈥檛 give a timeline for the changes but said the department can scrap its own rules for some vaccine mandates, though others would require action by the Florida Legislature. He did not specify any particular vaccines but repeated several times that the effort would end 鈥渁ll of them. Every last one of them.鈥�
The American Medical Association issued a statement saying Florida鈥檚 plan to end vaccine mandates 鈥渨ould undermine decades of public health progress.鈥�
鈥淲hile there is still time, we urge Florida to reconsider this change to help prevent a rise of infectious disease outbreaks that put health and lives at risk,鈥� said Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, an AMA trustee.
Under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida resisted on schoolchildren during the pandemic, requiring 鈥減assports鈥� for places that draw crowds, school closures and mandates that workers get the shots to keep their jobs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 another state that鈥檚 done as much as Florida. We want to stay ahead of the curve,鈥� the governor said.
DeSantis also announced the creation of a state 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥� commission Wednesday modeled after that Kennedy established at the federal level.
The commission would look into such things as allowing informed consent in medical matters, promoting safe and nutritious food, boosting parental rights in medical decisions about their children and eliminating 鈥渕edical orthodoxy that is not supported by the data,鈥� DeSantis said. The commission will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis.
The commission鈥檚 work will help inform a large 鈥渕edical freedom package鈥� to be introduced in the Legislature next session, which would address the vaccine mandates required by state law and make permanent the recent state COVID decisions relaxing restrictions, DeSantis said.
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