Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, announced on Wednesday that the state intends to repeal all mandatory childhood vaccinations for preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, and hepatitis. During a press conference in Tampa, Ladapo, an appointee of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, likened vaccine mandates to “slavery.”
“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo stated, arguing for individual autonomy over health decisions. “People have a right to make their own decisions. Who am I, as a government or anyone else, to tell you what you should put in your body?”
Ladapo, a long-time skeptic of vaccine benefits who public health advocates have previously accused of promoting misinformation, said he expected the move would receive “the blessing of God.” He also condemned public health measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, describing growing vaccine skepticism as “reflections of God’s light against the darkness of tyranny and oppression.”
The proposal would reverse Florida’s current health department regulations, which require children to receive a series of immunizations before they can enroll in public schools.
According to a 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), routine childhood vaccinations have been highly effective nationally. The CDC estimates that between 1994 and 2023, these programs prevented approximately 508 million illnesses, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1.13 million deaths among children, resulting in societal savings of $2.7 trillion.
Ladapo did not provide a specific timeline or legislative details for the repeal but confirmed his department would collaborate with lawmakers and the DeSantis administration. “People are going to have to choose a side,” he said. “And I am telling you right now that the moral side is so simple.”
If successful, Florida would become the first state in recent history to abolish all school vaccine mandates. Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, specializing in vaccine policy, noted that no formal legislation has been introduced. She pointed to a similar attempt in Idaho that was significantly weakened after public pushback.
“One reason all states adopted them is that evidence showed school mandates reduce and prevent outbreaks,” Reiss said. “If Florida does this, it’s creating an unfortunate natural experiment with its children as guinea pigs. Children deserve better.”
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