Florida wants to remove four immunizations from entry requirements for PreK-12 public and private schools.
The Florida Department of Health is proposing a rule to remove hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), haemophilus influenza Type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for public school attendance, a move that has been in play for almost a year after Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced his intent to get rid of all vaccine mandates in the state.
The rule, which was approved by Ladapo on Thursday, has a 21-day period for public input before final approval. Under Florida law, the health department can formally adopt the rule with approval from surgeon general, who is the agency head. The rule is adopted after it is filed with the Department of State.
The health department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
ALSO READ: Did school vaccines just become a campaign issue in Florida?
The proposed rule also expands religious vaccine exemptions to include moral and ethical beliefs and lets parents and college students opt out of having their records included in the state vaccine database.
Florida currently allows religious exemptions "if immunizations are in conflict with the religious tenets and practices of the child's parent or guardian," according to the health department.
Without an exemption, Florida law requires students to receive vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), polio, diphtheria, rubeola and tetanus to attend K-12 public schools. But the immunizations considered for repeal by the health department are only an agency rule, not in state law, and can be repealed by the agency itself.
Last September, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ladapo called on the Legislature to roll back all vaccine mandates in the state.
ALSO READ: School vaccination rates inch down yet again and exemptions reach record high
"Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Ladapo said during an apperance in Hillsborough County at the time. "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," he added.
In response, American Academy of Pediatrics president Dr. Susan Kressly said the move will put children at risk of getting sick.
"The AAP believes every family should have access to immunizations to keep their community healthy," Kressly said in a statement. "Schools are an important part of that community. For many kids, the best part of school is being with friends — sharing space, playing on the playground and trading germs. Close contact makes it easy for contagious diseases to spread quickly."
Even though the move to repeal all vaccine mandates was supported by DeSantis, first lady Casey DeSantis and then-Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas, no legislator filed a bill in any of the multiple legislative sessions in 2026 to remove those requirements from Florida law.
ALSO READ: Florida's surgeon general sought to repeal vaccine mandates. What's the status?
Multiple attempts at a "medical freedom" bill that would have expanded vaccine exemptions and mandated doctors to provide an alternate vaccine schedule passed the state Senate but failed to pass the state House.
In December, the health department held an open meeting in Panama City to discuss changing the vaccination requirements for public schools, which Emma Spencer, a director within agency, said was "grounded in policy based on considerations that favor parental rights and medical freedom."
Parents' rights advocates praised the state and also repeated unproven claims, such as vaccines cause autism, while doctors from around the state pleaded with health department to reconsider and said it would turn back the clock on medical advancements.
ALSO READ: Florida's plan to end vaccine mandates hits a road bump
Dr. Eehab Kenawy, a Panama City pediatrician, said religious exemptions already exist to allow parents and guardians to opt out of vaccinations for their children.
"You're not forced. But sending a message to the general public that vaccines are not important, vaccines are not needed, is not the way to do it," Kenawy said.
Copyright 2026 WUSF 89.7
