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2h ago

Florida Moves to End All Vaccine Mandates, Creates MAHA Commission

Full repeal of school immunization requirements would require action by the Florida Legislature.

FILE - Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo gestures as speaks to supporters and members of the media before a bill signing by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Nov. 18, 2021, in Brandon, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo delivers remarks during a bill-signing ceremony with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 8, 2024, in Sanford, Florida. Ladapo, a health care skeptic who has been mentioned for possible jobs in the Trump administration, issued an advisory Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, calling on Florida communities to stop fluoridating their water supplies.(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the plan at a Tampa-area event with Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling mandates "wrong" and likening them to "slavery."
  • The Health Department will seek to rescind mandates it controls by rule, while requirements in state law would be addressed in a future legislative package, with no timeline or bills released.
  • DeSantis unveiled a Make America Healthy Again commission to guide a broader "medical freedom" agenda, with First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins in leadership roles.
  • Public-health experts, pediatric leaders, and Democratic lawmakers warned the move could further depress vaccination and raise outbreak risks, noting 2024–25 kindergarten coverage of about 88.8% with 5.1% exemptions.
  • Florida currently requires vaccines for daycare and K–12 against diseases including measles, polio, DTaP, varicella, Hib, hepatitis B, and pneumococcal infection, and eliminating all mandates would be a first for any state.