DeSantis vows to end vaccine mandates in schools
In a move that could be the most comprehensive deconstruction of the public health system in Florida schools since vaccinations of schoolchildren became required across the nation decades ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this past Wednesday that he has ordered the Florida Surgeon General to end all mandates of vaccines for schoolchildren to attend public schools.
Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said he would be acting with the Florida Department of Health to begin ending mandates for the vaccines that the department controls under Florida law, and that approval from the Florida legislature would be needed for the rest.
The moves announced by DeSantis and Ladapo would seek to end vaccine mandates for schoolchildren for a whole host of diseases and infections from polio to chickenpox, smallpox, influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis.
None of the vaccines targeted are for the COVID-19 vaccination, which is not required to attend Florida schools.
During an appearance in Hillsborough County, DeSantis and Ladapo described the new policy in terms of “medical freedom” with DeSantis also giving a long overview on his opposition to COVID-19 vaccine requirements and restrictions.
Ladapo in his speech, repeatedly railed against what he called the “insanity” of the medical profession and vaccines, comparing them to slavery multiple times. Ladapo also called government requirements for vaccines “nonsense.”
Ladapo said he would work with the Florida Department of Health and DeSantis to end all vaccine mandates in Florida.
“All of them, every last one of them,” Ladapo said.
Ladapo said “every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”
Ladapo said there were a half dozen vaccines mandated by the Florida Department of Health that he would ensure “would be gone” and that the rest would have to be reversed by actions from the state legislature.
“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?” Ladapo said. “I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift from God, what you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God. I don’t have that right.”
Ladapo said it’s “immoral” for government to “tell you what you put in your body.”
State Sen. Jonathan Martin and Rep. Adam Botana, who represent Fort Myers Beach, did not return messages seeking comment on the vaccination plan by DeSantis. State Rep. Mike Giallombardo and Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, who also represents part of the county in the state legislature, did not respond to emails seeking comment.
School District of Lee County spokesman Rob Spicker said “The School District of Lee County follows the laws and guidelines from the State of Florida. When new regulations are released, we will review them and update the district’s health and safety protocols if necessary.”
Lee Health statement
Lee Health issued a statement in response to the plan to end vaccination requirements for schoolchildren through Chief Medical Officer Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser:
“Vaccines for childhood diseases have been proven safe and effective, protecting not only the vaccinated children but also our seniors and those who are immunocompromised and may be at increased risk for serious consequences of preventable illness,” Gonsenhauser said. “Diseases like polio and measles have been effectively immunized out of the broad population to benefit everyone. Lee Health continues to strongly encourage parents to vaccinate their children.”
Gonsenhauser said the policy change by DeSantis would not impact how Lee Health will advise.
“While requirements and mandates may change, our commitment to providing trusted guidance does not. We encourage families to use reliable sources of information to empower their own healthy choices because they are healthy choices, and not for any other reason. These steps are important to protect individual health and the health of our community,” Gonsenhauser said. “Lee Health remains focused on providing high-quality care and trusted medical guidance based on scientific research for the people of this community.”
MAHA Commission
In his speech, DeSantis also announced he would create a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA commission) that he said would be a “working group that would recommend state-level integration of these Make America Healthy principles. Those principles as I mentioned are individual medical freedom, informed consent, parent rights and also market innovation.”
The commission will be chaired by First Lady Casey DeSantis along with Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, and will include Ladapo, Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Shevaun Harris, Department of Elder Affairs Secretary Michelle Branham and Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert. DeSantis said the commission will also include “experts in the field” of vaccine safety, nutrition, health and family practice.
The objectives of the commission include promoting clean, safe and nutritious food, improving transparency and accountability in healthcare, working on causes of chronic diseases and “restoring trust in the medical field.”
DeSantis said the commission will prioritize reforms, reduce regulatory burdens and hold actors accountable while fostering incentives for healthy living and innovation.
Mrs. DeSantis also said she was concerned about the long-term implications of pharmaceuticals and vaccine schedules. “If you are eating fruits and vegetables, you can reverse a lot of these chronic conditions,” Mrs. DeSantis said. She also said intermittent fasting was beneficial. “If it is as beneficial as some who have touted its unparalleled success, why aren’t talking about this more?”
The office of Gov. Ron DeSantis did not reply to a message seeking comment on the next steps for the implementation of his plan to dismantle the vaccine requirements for schoolchildren. The office also did not respond to questions about a report by the Florida Center for Government Accountability that Ladapo had already begun to take actions that would remove requirements for schoolchildren in December for four vaccines against Hepatitis B, chickenpox, influenze and the Pneumococcal shot that fights the bacteria that causes pneumonia, meningitis and other bacterial infections. The reported cited a Florida Department of Health representative as its source.
The moves follow U.S. Senate hearings last week in which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promoted anti-vaccination theories, took stern questions from senators about his views and actions. Last month, the director of the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) Susan Minaret was fired and hundreds of other staffers at the CDC have also been fired this year since Kennedy was appointed by President Donald Trump.