Florida is on track to make history — and stir major controversy — by becoming the first state to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including those for schoolchildren. The move would roll back decades of public health policy credited with keeping dangerous diseases in check.
The announcement came Wednesday from Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, standing alongside Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in Valrico, near Tampa. DeSantis, who rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, has increasingly embraced anti-vaccine positions.
“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body?” Ladapo told the crowd, drawing applause. “Your body is a gift from God.” He vowed to work toward ending “every last” vaccine mandate, calling them “wrong” and “dripping with disdain and slavery,” though he offered no further explanation.
A National Flashpoint
The announcement comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serving as President Trump’s health secretary, pushes an anti-vaccine agenda that has shaken federal health agencies. At the CDC, experts have been ousted and replaced in some cases with figures aligned with Kennedy’s views.
Ladapo has long faced criticism from medical peers. In 2024, during a measles outbreak in Weston, he allowed parents to decide whether unvaccinated children could attend school — defying long‑standing public health guidelines. In 2023, the CDC publicly rebuked him for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
Exactly how Florida will dismantle its vaccine requirements remains unclear. State legislatures typically set school immunization rules, while the federal government approves vaccines and issues guidance. Ladapo said the Florida Department of Health, which he oversees, would scrap its vaccine mandate rules — but acknowledged lawmakers will “have to make decisions” to make it happen.
Pushback From Public Health Leaders
Republican legislative leaders in Florida have yet to comment. But Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a Republican and physician who chairs the U.S. Senate’s health committee, called the move “a terrible thing for public health.”
“We’re going to start having vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks at school,” Cassidy warned. “You’re going to have children who come to school with measles and infect others who either haven’t been vaccinated or are medically vulnerable.”
Currently, all 50 states require some vaccinations for school entry, though all allow medical exemptions and most permit religious or personal exemptions. Exemptions have been rising in recent years, while overall immunization rates have fallen, according to health policy group KFF.
Until now, Florida’s anti-vaccine policies under DeSantis have focused on COVID-19 shots. The state bans COVID vaccine mandates for students and prohibits “vaccine passports.” But for decades, Florida has required children to be vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis B, and other diseases before starting school.
Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a Miami pediatrician and past president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, rejected the idea that vaccination should be solely a parental choice.
“It’s more than just the decision of a parent,” she said. “It’s about the elderly, the vulnerable, the immunologically challenged — and how this impacts our society, our community, our neighbors, our relatives.”
Florida has one of the largest elderly populations in the country, thanks to decades of retirees moving to the state.
Political Undertones
DeSantis also announced a new commission to align Florida’s policies with Kennedy’s goals, to be led by his wife, Casey DeSantis. “We’ve already done a lot,” the governor said. “I don’t think any state has come even close to what Florida has done. But we want to stay ahead of the curve.”
The event, held in the gym of a private Christian high school, often felt like a political rally. DeSantis revisited the early days of the pandemic, portraying himself as a leader who defied “entrenched elites” and “minions” in federal public health agencies to keep schools open.
His pandemic stance helped him win re-election in 2022, but he failed to gain traction in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, losing to Trump. Since Trump’s return to the White House, DeSantis has sought to maintain his influence on the right by pushing aggressive policies on issues like illegal immigration.
On Wednesday, he acknowledged that Ladapo’s vow to eliminate vaccine mandates would not be “warmly embraced” by the medical establishment — but made clear he’s ready for the fight.
