For generations, mandatory vaccines have been one of the most effective ways to prevent outbreaks of potentially life-threatening diseases. But a new era of measles and polio outbreaks could be on the horizon now that Florida is poised to become the first state in the nation to phase out all childhood vaccine mandates.
The change, announced on Wednesday by state officials, comes as children return to classrooms. Public health experts warn that Florida’s decision, framed by state officials as a matter of individual freedom, will deepen existing racial health inequities, expose more children to preventable illness, and further politicize science.
“This is a terrifying decision that puts our children’s lives at risk. For decades, every state in America has had school vaccination requirements because they prevent illness, save lives, and protect health,” Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. (Disclosure: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports Word In Black’s health journalism.)
A Radical Departure From Health Norms
Before Wednesday’s announcement, Florida required children to be vaccinated against measles, chickenpox, hepatitis B, Diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP), polio, and other diseases if they were going to attend child day care facilities and public schools. The proposed shift means families will no longer be required to immunize their children against these diseases before they enter a classroom.
“When leaders talk about pulling back vaccines, they’re talking about disrupting student learning and making schools less safe,” the Florida Education Association said in a statement. “State leaders say they care about reducing chronic absenteeism and keeping kids in school — but reducing vaccinations does the opposite, putting our children’s health and education at risk.”
Comparing Vaccine Mandates to Slavery
Black Americans have typically had lower vaccination rates, for reasons ranging from lack of health insurance and low access to care to concerns about the medical profession’s racist history with vaccines.
But the state’s Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, cast the proposed change as one that liberates families to decide whether or not to protect their children.
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“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body?” Ladapo, a vocal critic of vaccines, told a crowd in Valrico, Florida, near Tampa. “Your body is a gift from God.”
Despite scientific evidence that vaccines save lives, Ladapo compared vaccine mandates to slavery. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” he said.
“This is not a slip of the tongue,” Los Angeles-based pediatric allergist Zachary Rubin told his 1 million-plus followers on Instagram and Substack. “It’s a calculated move in the ongoing politicization of public health, where evidence, history, and responsibility are traded for applause lines and culture-war soundbites.”
In 2023, the Biden Administration described some of Ladapo’s statements about COVID vaccine safety as “ misinterpretations and misinformation.” Rubin noted that “vaccines are not shackles, they are shields,” and also called Ladapo’s policy shift “dangerous.”
Federal Vaccine Policy in Turmoil
Florida’s announcement comes as experts report increasing vaccine skepticism and misinformation nationally. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dismissed long-standing vaccine advisory committees, fired the CDC director, and reversed recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination for children and healthy pregnant women. His moves have triggered lawsuits from medical organizations as well as bipartisan calls for his resignation.
Several members of Congress, a bipartisan group of nine former CDC directors, and roughly 1,000 HHS staff members have called for him to step down. And in light of this upheaval, the Senate Finance Committee is requiring him to appear at a hearing on Thursday.
Earlier this year, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, which is housed at the University of Minnesota, launched its Vaccine Integrity Project in response to the CDC’s changing approach to vaccines. The project is committed “to safeguarding vaccine use in the U.S. so that it remains grounded in the best available science.”
It’s also likely that health insurers operating in Florida will decide not to cover the cost of vaccines since they won’t be required. Such decisions could leave Black families to bear the brunt of increased infections and future pandemics.
A Dangerous Time to Retreat From Vaccines
Meanwhile, the United States faces rising numbers of cases of preventable disease. Last week, a CDC report announced that the nation had 23 more measles cases than the previous week. This increase brought the country’s total number of cases to 1,431, the most since the country declared the disease eliminated from our shores in 2000.
The confusion over vaccines also comes as the COVID-19 Variant XFG surges in the U.S., and cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, have increased because not enough children and adults have been vaccinated to sustain herd immunity.
