Florida Surgeon General Defends Plan to Drop School Vaccine Mandates
At a rule workshop in Lake Mary, Florida State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said the Department of Health's push to eliminate four school and daycare vaccine requirements, Hib, hepatitis B, varicella, and pneumococcal conjugate, is driven by parental rights rather than vaccine science or safety concerns. These four vaccines are mandated only through DOH administrative rule, not state statute, giving the department authority to remove them without legislative action. Supporters at the hearing praised the move as "medical freedom," while opponents, including a parent and health advocate, warned that eliminating mandates could end insurance coverage for the vaccines and put uninsured low-income children, including those not covered by Medicaid, at greater health risk. The rulemaking follows a proposal published last year and a prior public meeting in Panama City Beach, with Governor DeSantis and Ladapo having announced intent to eliminate all vaccine mandates from state law.