“Slavery”: Florida eliminates state vaccine mandates including for schools

In a move that would make it the first state in recent times to do so, Florida announced a plan to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including longstanding requirements for schoolchildren to be immunized against diseases like measles and polio.

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The decision, unveiled by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo alongside Governor Ron DeSantis, marks a significant departure from decades of public health policy.

During a press conference near Tampa, Dr. Ladapo framed the policy as a matter of “medical freedom,” stating that current requirements were an “immoral” intrusion on personal and parental rights.

He likened vaccine mandates to “slavery” and said that an individual’s decision on what to put in their body is a matter of their relationship with their God.

Governor DeSantis supported the move as an extension of his administration's "Keep Florida Free" agenda, which resisted COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other health restrictions.

The announcement has drawn swift and unified condemnation from leading medical organizations.

The American Medical Association (AMA) strongly opposed the plan, warning it would “undermine decades of public health progress and place children and communities at increased risk for diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox resulting in serious illness, disability, and even death”.

Public health experts have called the policy a “public health disaster in the making” and warned that it could lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases.

Dorit Reiss, a professor specializing in vaccine law, warned that if the state follows through with the repeal, it would be “creating an unfortunate natural experiment with its children as guinea pigs”.

Opponents also highlighted the potential economic impact, noting that increased illness could cause a "ripple effect" on the local economy as sick children and their caregivers miss school and work.

The plan involves a two-track approach: the Florida Department of Health can quickly rescind mandates set by agency rule, while those embedded in state law would require legislative action.

The governor also announced the creation of a new "Make America Healthy Again" commission to develop a "medical freedom package" for future legislation.

In contrast, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announced the formation of a West Coast Health Alliance to provide "science-driven" and "evidence-based" health guidance, citing the politicization of federal health agencies.