Florida to Become First State to Eliminate ‘Every Last’ Vaccine Mandate as Surgeon General Compares Them to ‘Slavery’

Florida is moving to remove all childhood vaccine mandates across the state.

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced during a press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis that every vaccine requirement in Florida schools will be repealed.

The plan would end mandates for vaccines against diseases such as measles, polio, hepatitis B, and chickenpox — shots that have been required in public schools for decades.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” said Ladapo, a longtime critic of vaccines.

“Who am I as a government or anyone else, who am I as a man standing here now, to tell you what you should put in your body?” he continued. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body? I don’t have that right.”

Ladapo argued that the decision supports “parental choice” and “bodily autonomy,” stressing that the state is not banning vaccines. He said families who want them can still get them.

“You want to put whatever different vaccines in your body, God bless you. I hope you make an informed decision,” he said. “You don’t want to put whatever vaccines in your body, God bless you. I hope you make an informed decision. That’s how it should be.”

The announcement quickly drew criticism.

Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani — who is running for Orlando mayor — said ending vaccine requirements “is reckless and dangerous” and could cause outbreaks of preventable diseases. “This is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State,” she wrote on X.

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell also condemned the decision, calling it “stunningly reckless.”

“DeSantis wants to trade the health of our kids for media headlines,” she said in a statement. “If this happened, Florida would be welcoming back child-killers like polio and measles with open arms.”

Ladapo has faced criticism for his views on vaccines before. In 2022, he announced guidance making Florida “the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children.”

He and DeSantis defended the move by pointing to concerns about possible risks from the COVID-19 vaccine, even though multiple studies have shown the shots are safe for kids.

Wednesday’s announcement also followed DeSantis’ creation of the Florida Make America Healthy Again commission, which will work on bringing President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again initiative into state policy.

“The Florida MAHA commission will prioritize reforms that empower Floridians, reduce regulatory burdens and hold actors accountable for their conduct, while fostering incentives for healthy living and innovation,” the governor said.