By Zo Terrana
Staff Writer
The state of Florida is aiming to eliminate vaccine requirements, being the first state to do so in the United States. The statement was officially made by Joseph Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, on Sept. 3.
This key public health policy, if passed, would make inoculations only voluntary for millions of school and college-aged people across Florida, according to Reuters. The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, and Ladapo both stated that the case for vaccination is “one of personal choice.” According to the Miami Herald, all 50 states and Washington, D.C have laws mandating certain vaccines for children to be able to attend school.
This new forecasted vaccine mandate would need new legislation, according to what DeSantis and Ladapo stated in their address. However, there needs to be approval of the state’s Republican controlled legislature, which is showing signs of opposition to the mandate, Reuters stated.
Ladapo’s implementation of the vaccine initiative could start with a reduction of six mandated vaccines, which are unspecified. However, more cooperation will be necessary with the Florida legislature for a package of reforms, according to Reuters.
Under administrative law, the half dozen existing vaccine mandates can be ended immediately. Another six mandates for vaccines encompassing diseases like measles, mumps and polio have to be ended by the legislature since they are mandated laws.
DeSantis has created a state “Make America Healthy Again” commission, chaired by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, according to AP News. This commission would help pursue a substantial medical package presented to the state's legislature to address the state vaccine mandates, as well as a permanent statute on Florida’s relaxed COVID vaccine restrictions.
The Republican counterpart, the state's Democratic Senate leader, Lori Berman, ridiculed the mandate, calling it a reckless attempt to harm children.
Anna Eskamani, a Democrat Representative running for Orlando mayor, echoed a similar sentiment to the mandate, saying "this is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State,” according to Reuters.
Florida Republican leaders in both bodies of Congress have not spoken on the issue, nor have they offered any supportive comments regarding the cancellation of the vaccine mandate.
However, the Florida vaccine policy did draw the support of Children’s Health Defense Director of Advocacy Michael Kane, according to Reuters. This anti-vax group was formerly chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
RFK Jr. has a long history of notably spreading vaccine disinformation, such as the conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism in children, which goes against the established information by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
President of the National Association of School Nurses, Lynn Nelson, also stated that the end to the vaccine mandate could initiate a health crisis within Florida, according to AP News. She expressed that since children wouldn't be vaccinated against illnesses like measles, school children are likely to transmit illnesses to their parents, who pass on the contagion to other humans, even infants.
In the wake of the state’s vaccine situation, Ladapo confirmed that neither his team nor the state health department conducted any data analysis or studies on the implications of the vaccine mandate removal, according to Politico.
The mandate removal would largely go against the national consensus of the American public. According to a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll, 79% of U.S. adults say that parents should be required to vaccinate their child for preventable diseases in order for their child to attend school.
Education wouldn't be the only sector being impacted by the end of the vaccine mandate. Florida’s tourism industry could be speculated to be hindered, according to AP News. Tourism, which is Florida's top industry, would be hit with a health crisis due to the state’s vaccine mandate, thus deterring tourists from visiting Florida.
