Florida plans to eliminate all vaccination mandates

Florida plans to become the first U.S. state to eliminate all vaccination mandates, including requirements that children be immunized to attend school, according to Governor Ron DeSantis and the state's surgeon general, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo.

The announcement came during an event in Valrico, near Tampa, where Dr. Ladapo likened the mandates to "slavery" and emphasized individual freedom. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? Your body is a gift from God," Ladapo declared to applause from the audience.

He further added that the (Florida) administration is "working to end” all vaccination mandates: "Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery."

The exact process for repealing these long-standing mandates is unclear. Dr. Ladapo indicated that the Florida Department of Health would remove the rules enacting the mandates under its watch, but state legislators "are going to have to make decisions. That’s how this becomes possible," he said.

For his part, Gov. DeSantis, who appointed Dr. Ladapo in 2021, also announced the creation of a commission to align Florida with the goals of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services in the President Donald Trump Administration.

The commission, headed by Casey DeSantis, wife of the governor, will focus on issues such as informed consent, parental rights in medical decisions, and the elimination of "medical orthodoxy not supported by data." Along those lines, the Republican noted, “We’ve already done a lot. I don’t think any state has come even close to what Florida has done.” DeSantis said. But he added, "We want to be ahead of the curve," according to reports from the New York Times.

Reactions to Florida's proposals

The proposal has generated mixed reactions. Democratic Representative Anna Eskamani called the elimination of mandates "reckless and dangerous," warning of possible outbreaks of preventable diseases.

For his part, Dr. Robert Malone, who was recently appointed to a CDC vaccine advisory committee, praised Ladapo on X, describing him as a "measured scientist - who is on fire to change the system for the better!”