Details emerge on Florida’s plan to end vaccine mandates

Officials with the Florida Department of Health anticipate new rules to end school-based vaccine requirements to take effect in 90 days, beginning with chickenpox and immunizations for other diseases. 

On Sept. 3, the state’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, said Florida would move to scrap all vaccine mandates in the state, including routine requirements for children entering kindergarten. While the health department has jurisdiction to drop some vaccine requirements, others will require action by lawmakers.

In 90 days, mandates on school vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, Hib Influenza and pneumococcal diseases may be lifted, the health department told The Associated Press. Other vaccinations mandated by state law to attend school — including for measles, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, mumps and tetanus — will “remain in place, unless updated through legislation.” 

When asked about Florida’s move at the White House on Sept. 5, President Donald Trump did not express support for the plan.

“You have vaccines that work” he told reporters, according to a Politico report. “They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all. And I think those vaccines should be used. Otherwise, some people are going to catch it and they endanger other people.” 

In announcing plans to scrap vaccine mandates, Dr. Ladapo said, “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”

During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sept. 7, he said his position is intended to support parents’ rights in making decisions about their children’s care.

“It’s really about ethics,” Dr. Ladapo said. “Is it appropriate for a government or any other entity to dictate to you what you should put in your body? No, it’s absolutely not appropriate. You have sovereignty over your body.”

Medical groups and public health experts have condemned Florida’s plans, saying it will raise the risk that more children will become infected with preventable diseases that have been kept at bay for decades due to herd immunity.

“We’re going to start having vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks at school,” Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, told The New York Times. “You’re going to have children who come to school with measles and infect other people who either have not been vaccinated or have some sort of disease, like cancer.” 

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