Gabrielle Russon
Several medical organizations are condemning Florida’s decision to roll back childhood vaccines for schoolchildren, warning the consequences could be “catastrophic.”
“Vaccines are one of the greatest public health advancements in history. Immunizations are effective, safe and save lives,” said Ashley Lyerly, Senior Director of Advocacy at the American Lung Association. “Now is not the time to turn our back on a proven tool that helps us all live longer and healthier lives.”
Lyerly’s statement comes a day after Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the state is working to eliminate all vaccine requirements for children. He compared vaccine mandates to “slavery” when he spoke alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Currently, Florida students can skip vaccines for religious grounds. But Ladapo’s plans would go a step further and make Florida the first state in the nation to eliminate all vaccine mandates for polio, measles-mumps-rubella, chicken pox, Hepatitis B and other diseases.
“In particular, childhood immunizations, like the DTaP vaccine to prevent whooping cough or MMR vaccine to prevent measles, mumps and rubella, protect communities from outbreaks that cause severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths. Infectious diseases can quickly cross state lines,” Lyerly said.
“With Florida offering some of the most popular vacation destinations in the nation, the ramifications from this decision could be catastrophic.”
In 2024, about 75 million visitors traveled to Orlando, which was one of the country’s biggest tourism destinations.
The Florida Medical Association, which represents more than 23,000 physicians and medical workers, also said it “unequivocally supports the vaccination and immunization of school-aged children against diseases that decades ago proved life-threatening to our kids.”
In addition to the Health Department rolling back vaccine mandates, DeSantis and Ladapo also plan to work with lawmakers on a bigger bill package, as they argue it’s important to give parents more control.
Democrats slammed the announcement, calling it dangerous.
“DeSantis is about to turn Florida into a hotbed for measles, TB, RSV, and the flu — diseases that threaten our children, seniors, and vulnerable Floridians the most but that vaccines have proven to prevent,” U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, an Orlando Democrat, posted on X. “Make no mistake: people will die, kids will die at the expense of DeSantis’ culture war.”
State Rep. Daryl Campbell, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, also took issues with Ladapo’s words. Campbell said the Surgeon General “demeaned his office by comparing public health measures to slavery.”
