Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced Wednesday that the state would no longer require children attending schools to be vaccinated against a series of contagious diseases, saying the decision will eliminate all state vaccine mandates for children.
At a news conference, Ladapo said the Florida Department of Health and Governor Ron DeSantis would work to end all mandates in the state. "Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," he said. "Who am I as a government or anyone else, or as a man standing here now, to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right."
Ladapo listed vaccines that had been required under Florida policy, including those for measles, mumps and rubella, polio, tetanus, chickenpox and hepatitis B. Until the announcement, Florida required children attending public or private schools from kindergarten through 12th grade to receive a series of vaccinations unless their parents filed a religious or medical exemption.
Officials did not immediately provide a date for when the requirements would be rescinded or detail the legal or administrative steps necessary to implement the change. The announcement did not specify whether adult vaccine requirements, where they exist, would be affected.
The move, if carried out, would mark a significant shift in state public health policy. Florida officials characterized the decision as a matter of personal liberty and parental choice. The statement from the surgeon general framed mandates as an overreach by government into individual medical decisions.
Public health authorities and medical organizations generally cite childhood vaccination requirements as central to preventing outbreaks of highly contagious diseases such as measles and polio. Under existing rules prior to the announcement, schools enforced vaccination schedules to maintain high levels of community immunity, with exemptions available for medical reasons and, in Florida, for religious reasons when parents filed the appropriate paperwork.
The announcement follows a broader national debate over public health mandates that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued in state-level policy discussions. Florida’s declaration that it will eliminate all childhood vaccine mandates sets the state apart from most other states, which maintain school-entry vaccination requirements while allowing narrowly defined exemptions.
State officials did not provide immediate data or analysis intended to show how changing the mandate would affect vaccination rates or disease transmission. Legal experts and public health officials typically note that changes to statutory or regulatory requirements can involve the governor, the legislature, administrative rulemaking, or court review, depending on how a state’s laws are structured.
The Florida Department of Health did not immediately release implementing regulations or a timeline for rescinding the requirements. The announcement may prompt responses from public health groups, school systems, parents and lawmakers as details are developed and any formal actions are taken.
As implementation details emerge, officials and health agencies both within and outside the state are expected to monitor vaccination coverage and disease surveillance data to assess any public health implications of ending school vaccine mandates.