Florida moves to end childhood vaccination mandates. Doctors brace for impact
Original story by: ABC News
Last updated: Oct 22, 2025
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- Context: Florida plans to end its long-standing requirement for childhood immunizations against various diseases. This decision, supported by Governor Ron DeSantis and championed by Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, has raised concerns among health professionals due to the potential for increased disease outbreaks.
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- Detailed Summary:
- Florida's Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, announced a plan to eliminate all school-age vaccination mandates, stating that government should not dictate what individuals put in their bodies.
- Critics, including doctors and public health experts, fear that ending these mandates will lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases like measles, hepatitis, meningitis, pneumonia, diphtheria, and polio, impacting not only the unvaccinated but also vulnerable populations.
- Many health officials and pediatricians are reportedly being discouraged or are choosing not to speak out publicly against the decision, citing fears of losing business or facing harassment from anti-vaccine groups.
- Historically, vaccine mandates have been effective in increasing vaccination rates. The last time states ended mandates was early last century when smallpox was the primary vaccine; no state has done so since other vaccines were added to the schedule.
- Recent partisan shifts, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, have influenced vaccine policy discussions in several states, including Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, with some considering or enacting easier exemption processes for parents.
- Surgeon General Ladapo has stated that parental freedom of choice regarding vaccines is not a scientific issue but one of "right and wrong" and has not modeled disease outcomes before his announcement.
- During a recent measles outbreak in Broward County, Ladapo allowed unvaccinated children to attend school, contradicting CDC guidance.
- Florida already has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, with an 89% vaccination rate for kindergartners statewide, falling short of the 95% needed for measles prevention.
- The state is set to end mandates for vaccines against hepatitis B, chickenpox, and meningitis/pneumonia, and the legislature is expected to consider reversing a 1977 law requiring vaccinations for seven other serious diseases.
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