Doctors, medical experts and politicians on both sides of the aisle are pushing back on a plan from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to end all vaccine requirements in the state.
State law mandates vaccines for kids attending public school, including shots that protect against Measles-mumps-rubella, polio, and chickenpox. But Florida’s Surgeon General said this week he’s against rules that require anyone to put anything in their body.
“Every last one of them, every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and-and slavery,” he said.
Ladapo, who previously worked to keep Florida from having COVID-19 vaccine requirements, said he’s working to abolish the state’s other vaccination rules.
“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in your [their] body? I don't have that, right? Your body. Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body, what you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God, I don't have that right,” he said.
Some Republicans, like U.S. Senator Rick Scott have come out in opposition to the change. Scott points out the state already allows exemptions for religious reasons, health or personal beliefs. And many medical groups, including the American Medical Association and Florida Medical Association, have responded to the announcement by reaffirming their support for vaccinations.
Eric Feldman, a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said he’s not surprised by the news.
“If one didn't see this coming in Florida, then we probably haven't been paying much attention to what the Surgeon General has been saying and doing for a good number of years,” he said.
Feldman thinks Ladapo’s framing of vaccinations as an individual choice ignores how vaccinations limit the spread of disease and protect everyone in society.
“It's like I tell my students at Penn, if you're feeling sick, don't come to class. It's your obligation to the community to stay home and not get us sick,” he said. “Your surgeon general says getting vaccinated should just be an individual family choice, but it's not just an individual family choice, because your choice impinges on the opportunities and health and well-being of other people.”
Feldman said Ladapo’s efforts will hurt children in Florida. He pointed to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that estimates from 1994 to 2023, routine childhood vaccinations have prevented approximately 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and over a million deaths nationwide.
“If we're going to stop vaccinating our kids, we're going to be creating situations in which they are more likely to get sick and more likely to die from things they could have prevented,” he said.
Democratic politicians point out the move from Ladapo is counter to promises he previously made. In 2023, he said during a legislative committee meeting he supports the current laws about vaccine requirements.
“I think that the Florida Statutes are appropriate, and the Florida Statutes provide mandated vaccines, along with an opportunity for families, parents who believe otherwise to opt out. And I think that's appropriate,” he said at the time.
DeSantis and Ladapo do not have the power to roll back the current requirements alone. Florida law mandates that kids get vaccinated for several illnesses, like polio, measles, mumps and tetanus before attending public school. The legislature would need to pass a law to change that requirement.
But Democratic State Senator Tina Polsky thinks the writing is on the wall.
“I almost feel like he's been prepping us for this, you know, slowly but surely, sewing doubt in everyone's mind,” she said.
She thinks anti-vaccine messaging from DeSantis and Ladapo is responsible for the drop in child vaccination rates in Florida.
“We're almost not at herd immunity for our immunizations like we were before, simply because those in charge are feeding into the controversy and the conspiracy that really should not exist. There's no scientific basis for it,” she said.
Feldman agrees. He said he thinks the messaging campaign from Ladapo will continue to erode public trust in healthcare.
“That's about as destructive of the public health system and as misleading and dishonest as I think one could find,” he said.
Florida’s move comes as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues national attacks against vaccines, including firing the entire 17-member Advisory Panel on Immunization Practices at the CDC earlier this year.