Florida moves to scrap state school vaccine requirements by Gary Fineout

 During the height of Covid-19, the state championed a “medical freedom” agenda that included scrapping mask mandates and prohibiting employers from requiring Covid-19 vaccines for employment. 

 TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state, which vocally resisted mandates during the Covid-19 pandemic, now may scrap all vaccine and immunization requirements — most notably including those for students.

State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, long a vaccine skeptic, announced that Florida would make the push during an event with the governor designed to show the state aligning itself with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement championed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

 “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo said about Florida’s vaccine requirements. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift from God.”

Florida has a mix of immunization requirements for those entering schools and colleges, including shots for measles, polio and chicken pox. The state does allow for exemptions, and the most recent data shows nearly 89 percent of students entering kindergarten are immunized.

During the height of Covid-19, DeSantis championed what he called a “medical freedom” agenda that included scrapping mask mandates and prohibiting employers from requiring Covid-19 vaccines for employment. He also pushed a law that banned “vaccine passports” by businesses — such as cruise lines — that wanted to require proof of vaccination.

DeSantis said Wednesday that he backed the push by Ladapo — which will require action by the state Department of Health and concurrence from the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. He also touted Ladapo again as a possible head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC director was just ousted amid a conflict that included disagreements over vaccine requirements.

 Neither state Senate President Ben Albritton nor House Speaker Daniel Perez immediately responded to a request for comment.

The governor also said he was creating a new “MAHA” commission, led by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and first lady Casey DeSantis, that would look at everything from “restoring trust in the medical profession” to regulatory burdens and would include nutrition and health experts.

Some Democrats responded quickly to the announcement from the DeSantis administration. David Jolly, who is running to succeed DeSantis, said he would fire Ladapo if elected and urged Republican candidates Byron Donalds and Paul Renner to pledge to do the same.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) called the idea a “public health disaster in the making.”

“To toss aside decades of proven science for political gain is dangerous, short-sighted and will cost lives,” Eskamani said in a statement. “Florida families deserve leaders who put public health and safety first, not ideology.”