Florida leaders move to end vaccine mandates, drawing concerns from parents and doctors

TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans on Tuesday to eliminate Florida’s longstanding vaccine mandates, framing the move as a defense of parental rights and medical freedom. The announcement, made alongside Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and First Lady Casey DeSantis, drew immediate pushback from parents, physicians, and pediatric leaders who fear the change will put children and communities at risk.

Ladapo promised Florida would go further than any state in removing requirements.

“The Florida Department of Health, we have some rules that we promulgated, not me, predecessors, that include… maybe a half a dozen vaccines that are mandated in Florida,” Ladapo said. “So those are going to be gone, for sure. And we’re going to be working with our amazing Governor DeSantis and our wonderful lawmakers to get rid of the rest of it.”

WATCH: Florida leaders move to end vaccine mandates, drawing concerns from parents and doctors

Ladapo argued the decision is a matter of morality, comparing the mandates to slavery.

“Every last one of them, every last one of them, is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery, okay? Who am I as a government or anyone else, or who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in your body? I don't have that right.

Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife, spoke about her experience battling breast cancer in 2021 and said parents deserve transparency about health risks.

“They were shoveling a lot of narratives and agendas at us, and I wanted to know what’s the truth,” she said. “Just tell me, as a mom, what I can do to give my children the best opportunity to be healthy.”

But for parents like Nathalie Molina, the announcement raised new worries about sending her three young children into classrooms.

“Ultimately, I think that parents should have the right to choose if, whether or not they vaccinate their kids,” Molina said. “But ultimately, it’s all like mitigating risk. Just like if other parents don’t vaccine their kids, and then some kids are vaccinated, I feel like it will be a conflict… because you don’t know who’s vaccinated, who’s not.”

She said she fears her children could bring home preventable illnesses.

“That was like my biggest worry in school, just a constant, getting sick and you not knowing whether it’s going to be something that you can’t even… control at a hospital,” Molina said.

Still, she noted that nothing has changed yet.

“There’s still a lot of hurdles, and I know a lot of people are going to be opposed,” she said. “It’s something to keep in mind, especially in the future for me and my kids.”

Doctors were more forceful in their response.

Dr. Neal Manimala, a physician and incoming president of the Hillsborough County Medical Association, called the decision “reckless.”

“Vaccines have saved millions upon millions of lives of children, the most vulnerable members of our population, and to kind of close the door on that so rapidly and without thought, I think is very irresponsible,” Manimala said.

Although the Governor has questioned the reliability of the World Health Organization, the global record of vaccines points to a positive impact from vaccinations.

The World Health Organization reports that over the past 50 years, essential vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives, adding that this is equivalent to an average of six lives saved every minute, every day, for five decades. Vaccination has reduced infant deaths by 40% globally. and even more—over 50%—in parts of Africa.

The measles vaccine alone accounts for the majority of those lives saved, with approximately 94 million deaths averted over the same period.

Each year, vaccination prevents 3.5 to 5 million deaths from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles. 

Dr. Manimala compared the change to “getting rid of mandates for preventing drunk driving.”

“I certainly wouldn’t give a whole six pack of beer to a six-year-old and put them behind an SUV and tell them to drive around their classroom,” Manimala said. “That’s honestly analogous to what this is.”

Dr. Manimala, whose wife is expecting their first child this year, said the move leaves him personally unsettled.

“We’re fearful as to what the state of affairs is here in the state of Florida,” he said. “When you remove mandates on vaccines, you’re removing that safety net, especially for the most vulnerable in our society.”

He also took aim at the political overtones.

“Politics should have no place when it comes to health care,” Manimala said. “These are situations where the facts don’t care about your feelings.”

The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics also issued a statement, warning the rollback could harm families statewide.

“The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics believes every family should have access to immunizations to keep their community healthy,” said FCAAP President Dr. Rana Alissa. “We are concerned that today’s announcement will put children in Florida public schools at higher risk for getting sick, which will have a ripple effect across our communities.”

As the debate deepens, Molina said she will continue to weigh her options as a mom.

“Ultimately, the parent pretty much knows what’s best for their kids and their families,” she said. “But it is a big worry.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, students must have the following immunizations to attend child care, preschool, or K–12 public and private schools, unless exempted:

Child Care / Family Day Care:

• Diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP)
• Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)
• Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20)
• Hepatitis B (Hep B)

Preschool Entry:
Same requirements as child care, including DTaP, IPV, MMR, varicella, Hib, PCV, and Hepatitis B.

Kindergarten through 12th Grade:

• DTaP: Four or five doses
• IPV: Four or five doses
• MMR: Two doses
• Hepatitis B: Three doses
• Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis): One dose (required at grade 7 or upon entry to grade 7)
• Varicella: Two doses (or documented history of varicella disease)

7th Grade Additional Requirement:

• Tdap booster in addition to all previously required immunizations.

Students can be exempted from these vaccine requirements under certain conditions:

• Medical exemptions, documented by a certified physician.
• Religious exemptions, filed using state-approved forms.
• Temporary exemptions for certain groups (e.g., homeless, foster care, military families, juvenile justice entrants) for up to 30 days while records or immunizations are being obtained.

Governor Ron DeSantis outlined a twofold strategy to make the policy shift official.

1. Immediate Regulatory Rollback

Ladapo, joined by DeSantis, affirmed that the Florida Department of Health has the authority to scrap its own rule-based vaccine mandates immediately. These are mandates that were not backed by statute but were instead put in place via administrative rules.

2. Legislative Action Required

For mandates that are statutorily required, such as those embedded in state law for school entry, the DeSantis administration will work with the Legislature to repeal or rewrite those provisions in the next legislative session. No specific timeline was offered, but the administration confirmed that such mandates cannot be removed without legislative approval.