Florida Surgeon General Announces End to All Vaccine Mandates

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Sept. 3, 2025 - Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo declared today that the state will move to abolish every vaccine requirement in Florida, including those for children enrolling in schools, a first-in-the-nation effort that builds on the administration’s broader “medical freedom” agenda.

At a joint event in Valrico, near Tampa, with Governor Ron DeSantis, Dr. Ladapo characterized vaccine mandates as an affront to individual liberty, likening them to “slavery” and asserting they “drip[] with disdain and servitude”. “Who am I to dictate what your child should receive in their body? Your body is a divine gift,” he told supporters.

Under the plan:

  • The Florida Department of Health will immediately begin revoking its own vaccine regulations.
  • Additional mandates entrenched in state law will require legislative action by the Republican-controlled legislature.
  • Governor DeSantis announced the creation of a “Make America Healthy Again” commission, chaired by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and First Lady Casey DeSantis, to advance parental rights in medical decisions and explore broader health-policy reforms.

Florida’s current school-entry immunization requirements cover diseases such as measles, polio, chickenpox and hepatitis B, with exemptions already permitted for medical, religious or personal beliefs. State health data indicate that nearly 89 percent of kindergarteners are currently up to date on required vaccines.

Opponents warned of potential public health risks. Democratic state Representative Anna Eskamani termed the move “reckless and dangerous,” predicting outbreaks of preventable diseases, while several public health experts cautioned that dismantling mandates could reverse decades of progress in controlling childhood infections.

The announcement comes amid ongoing national debates over vaccine policy and parental choice. If fully implemented, Florida will be the first state to eliminate all vaccine mandates, marking a significant shift in public health policy.