Florida Seeks to Be First to Ban Vaccine Mandates for Children in the State

Vaccine skepticism from Republicans continues to gain ground with the decision by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, to end all mandates in the state that require that school-aged children receive certain vaccines before they can attend public schools.^1,2

The announcement came during a news conference held on Wednesday with the surgeon general, where he claimed that the mandates were akin to slavery. The vaccine mandates included requirements for children to receive vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis, chickenpox, measles, hepatitis B, and polio, among others. The move would make Florida the first to ban vaccine requirements.

There is no timeline for these vaccine mandates to be dismissed in the state, as some would require the Florida Legislature to dismiss the mandates entirely. Public health organizations, including the American Medical Association, have come out against this move, stating that it would be a significant regression of public health policy in the country.¹

The move comes amid a long string of antivaccine policies from the Trump administration, spearheaded by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Since his confirmation to the position, Kennedy fired all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to replace them with members who were found to be more skeptical of vaccines in general.³ Kennedy has added to this list of members just recently, with the list pending approval. The members include a semi-retired transplant surgeon, a pediatric neurologist, an emergency medicine specialist, a pharmacist, an epidemiology professor, and an obstetrician-gynecologist.⁴

Kennedy has also rescinded all emergency use authorizations of COVID-19 vaccines, along with the FDA limiting eligibility to receive the vaccine, making them available only to those at higher risk of severe illness.⁵

Today, September 4, Kennedy is testifying at a Senate hearing regarding vaccine policy, CDC firings, and the Trump administration's health care plans.

Amid these changes, California, Oregon, and Washington state announced that they would be forming an alliance to provide public health recommendations to their citizens due to perceived politization of the CDC.⁶ The West Coast Health Alliance will aim to deliver evidence-based public health recommendations to restore confidence in vaccines across their states.

These decisions have established a pattern of vaccine skepticism from the administration, but the move to ban vaccine mandates had not been publicly considered by any states prior to the announcement from Ladapo. Exceptions to vaccine mandates due to religious reasons were previously available in Florida along with several other states along the east coast.⁷ Only New York, Connecticut, Maine, West Virginia, and California allowed no exemptions to be obtained to avoid taking vaccines.

State Rep Anna Eskamani (D-FL) took to the social platform X to state that the decision to ban vaccine mandates “is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State.”¹

Ladapo defended the decision during the news conference, stating, “People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions. They don’t have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.”

The next steps in the rescinding of the vaccine mandate are yet to be determined but will likely come in the upcoming days and weeks as officials identify which mandates need to be brought forth to the Florida Legislature to be dismissed.

References

1. Anderson C. Florida plans to become first state to eliminate all childhood vaccine mandates. AP News. Updated September 3, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/florida-childhood-vaccines-mandate-eliminate-desantis-363323dcdd3811ca9ad7def5f9a30fb2

2. Matza M. Florida aims to ban vaccine mandates for schoolchildren. BBC. September 3, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg0e485wwwo

3. Bonavitacola J. Vaccine skeptics among CDC vaccine panel replacements named by RFK Jr. AJMC^®. June 12, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/vaccine-skeptics-among-cdc-vaccine-panel-replacements-named-by-rfk-jr

4. Steenhuysen J, Aboulenein A. Kennedy picks seven new members for US CDC vaccine panel, document shows. Reuters. Updated September 4, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/kennedy-picks-seven-new-members-us-cdc-vaccine-panel-document-shows-2025-09-04/

5. Jeremias S. COVID-19 vaccine booster receives approval with limits on patient access. AJMC. August 27, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/covid-19-vaccine-booster-receives-approval-with-limits-on-patient-access

6. Steinzor P. West Coast states form alliance to provide public health recommendations. AJMC. September 3, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/west-coast-states-form-alliance-to-provide-public-health-recommendations

7. State non-medical exemptions from school immunization requirements. National Conference of State Legislatures. Updated July 24, 2025. Accessed September 4, 2025. https://www.ncsl.org/health/state-non-medical-exemptions-from-school-immunization-requirements