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3w ago

Florida Scales Back Vaccine Mandate Rollback After GOP Blowback

The health department now targets only non‑statutory shots through a roughly 90‑day rulemaking.

Kiva Williams worries that her kids will be vulnerable to serious diseases if Florida ends all vaccine mandates.
A sign advertises flu, pneumonia, and shingles vaccine shots at a Walgreens pharmacy in Miami, Florida, U.S. September 4, 2025 REUTERS/Marco Bello
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said this month he was proposing doing away with vaccine mandates for everyone in the state, including schoolchildren.
An undated image shows a participant in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Misinformation and the historical trauma of the Tuskegee study is causing hesitancy in the Black community, experts warn.

Overview

  • After pledging to end all mandates, state officials now propose removing requirements not tied to school entry such as hepatitis B, varicella, and influenza, while mandates for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis remain unless the legislature acts.
  • President Donald Trump praised routine vaccines and questioned Florida’s plan, and key Republican legislative leaders have not committed to bills that would repeal school‑entry requirements.
  • Public health and civil‑rights leaders warn that easing requirements could depress vaccination rates and widen health disparities, with particular concern for Black communities facing access barriers and mistrust.
  • Florida health data show childhood vaccination coverage has fallen about 10% over the past decade, heightening concerns about preventable outbreaks.
  • Supporters, including Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, frame the change as a parental rights issue grounded in informed consent, while vaccines remain available statewide during the rulemaking process.