Florida will move to scrap all vaccine mandates in the state, including routine immunization requirements for children entering kindergarten, state officials said Sept. 3.
Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, the state’s surgeon general, shared plans to eliminate vaccine requirements during an event alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis that highlighted the state’s alignment with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, according to Politico.
“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Dr. Ladapo said during a news conference, referring to Florida’s vaccine requirements. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift from God.”
Florida currently requires vaccinations for children entering school, including those for measles, mumps and rubella, as well as polio and diphtheria. Across the state, about 89% of students entering kindergarten received routine immunizations. Nationally, the rate is 92%, according to CDC data on the 2024 to 2025 school year.
In July, the CDC published updated data on vaccination coverage trends, showing childhood exemption rates hit a record high in the U.S. Overall, coverage decreased for all reported vaccines during the 2024 to 2025 school year, with exemption rates reaching 3.6% — the highest level recorded since the agency began tracking the measure.
During the Sept. 3 press conference, Mr. DeSantis said he supports the surgeon general’s efforts to sunset vaccine mandates in Florida. The move will require action by both the state’s department of health and the state legislature.
In a statement, the American Medical Association said it “strongly opposes the plan.”
“This unprecedented rollback would undermine decades of public health progress and place children and communities at increased risk for diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox resulting in serious illness, disability, and even death,” the AMA said. “While 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.”
Dr. Ladapo and Mr. DeSantis have consistently questioned the safety and efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. During the pandemic, Florida banned mask and vaccine mandates in businesses and workplaces as part of a broader “medical freedom” agenda.
