Florida To End All State Vaccine Requirements, Joseph Ladapo Says-A First In The U.S.
Topline
Florida will end all state vaccine mandates, Florida Surgeon Gen. Joseph Ladapo announced Wednesday, likening the requirements to slavery in a move that, if successful, would make Florida the first state in the U.S. to remove all vaccine requirements.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo (R) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (L). (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
TNS
Key Facts
Ladapo said “every last” vaccine mandate would be removed, saying each mandate “is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an endorsement of the move that some vaccine mandates could be unilaterally ended by his office, The Washington Post reported, but he noted “the rest would require changes from the legislature.”
Ladapo said there are “maybe half a dozen vaccines that are mandated, so those are going to be gone for sure.”
Florida vaccine mandates include requirements for public school attendance including immunizations against polio, mumps, measles, hepatitis B and chicken pox.
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Crucial Quote
Ladapo added, “Who am I, or anyone else, to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body?”
Big Number
88%. That is Florida’s immunization rate for kindergarteners in 2025, a 5% drop from 2019, according to state health data.
Key Background
Ladapo’s call for an end to state vaccine mandates is not unprecedented, as the surgeon general previously pushed to stop the use of mRNA coronavirus vaccines, falsely claiming they could contaminate human DNA. Ladapo was also among the first state health officials to rally against the use of fluoride in drinking water, which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also did earlier this year after Utah banned fluoride in its public water supply. Ladapo’s goal to end state vaccine mandates, which often include immunization for measles, mumps and rubella, comes after the U.S. experienced its largest measles outbreak in 30 years. While the outbreak was largely concentrated in Texas, there have been 1,431 measles cases so far this year in 40 states, with six cases in Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Further Reading
Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates, first in nation to do so (WaPo)
