Florida to end vaccine mandates for children as FL surgeon general likens them to 'slavery'

[Ilsa]

Children in Florida will no longer be required to receive vaccines against preventable diseases including measles, mumps, chicken pox, polio and hepatitis said Joseph Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, on Wednesday in a speech during which he likened vaccine mandates to “slavery”.

Ladapo, hand-picked for the role by Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, is a long-time skeptic of the benefit of vaccines, and has previously been accused of peddling “scientific nonsense” by public health advocates.


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In his announcement on Wednesday, at a press conference in Tampa hosted by DeSantis, he said that every state vaccine requirement would be repealed, and that he expected the move would receive the blessing “of God”.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” said Ladapo, who altered data in a 2022 study about Covid-19 vaccines in an attempt to exaggerate the risk to young men who took one.

[Ilsa]

1. Waiting for a measles outbreak at DisneyWorld. nt

[Traildogbob]

3. Living in an iron lung

Is a restrictive lifestyle, NOTHING like slavery, but certainly confining. Antibiotics next, but never, never touch Viagra. The only Pharma allowed in GQP paradise. And legalizing girls as young as 13 as sexual toys for men.

[Liberty Belle]

2. Airlines, trains, Disneyworld, etc. should ban unvaccinated children. This nonsense needs to stop.

It's child endangerment, plain and simple.

[SoFlaBro]

4. Everything is 'slavery' to a stupid assed MAGA motherfucker. Fucking shitstains. Piss on those fucking turds.

[lastlib]

5. Memorandum to self: Stay OUT of Florida.

If only the Neanderthals could just kill themselves, instead of the children......

It will be interesting in a few years to compare childhood disease death rates for Florida to the same rates in states where vaccines are required. But, sadly MAGAts are only immune to facts.

[tanyev]

6. It's not like Florida has a large population of elderly residents, many in fragile health....

OH, WAIT!

[patphil]

7. He expected the move would receive the blessing of God?

First, how does he know this. Did God tell him?
Second, why would God be concerned with this? He doesn't seem to care about war in general, or gun violence in particular.
so why would vaccines trigger God?
He also doesn't seem to care about disease or starvation. These things have been with us since the earliest days of humanity.

I could easily read into this guy's idiotic statement that he believes God would rather have us experience the pain, misery, debilitation, and death from disease that so many have gone through, rather than have a vaccine that saves millions of lives each year. But you have to understand these Republicans are the same people who think empathy is a bad thing.

Now don't get me wrong, the worst things people do to each other are the results of their bad, even horrible, decisions.
As the best things we do for each other are the result of our own good, compassionate, loving decisions.

Ultimately, I believe that God wants us to learn the lessons of love through the experiences we have in our lives down here. Some do this pretty well, some others just don't get it.

[Buns_of_Fire]

8. Joseph Abiodun Ladapo b. 1978, Nigeria.

Yo, ICEstapo; if you really want to deport someone that would make America better simply by their departure...

[Danmel]

9. I work for an elected official

I've had people call us saying vaccine mandates violate their religious rights because getting vaccinated means you don't trust God to protect you.

Nuts. Certifiable.
Glad I have no reason to ever set foot in Florida.

[bif]

10. One more reason to never visit Florida.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Florida Surgeon General Ladapo takes aim at all of the state's vaccine mandates

School districts have required children to be immunized against all kinds of diseases for decades. In Florida, officials hope to roll back the clock.

As DeSantis’ administration in Florida targets *all* of the state’s vaccine mandates, remember:

If Lapado & Co succeed, Floridians would start exporting contagions and serious ailments to other Americans — and in all likelihood, even to other countries. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-03T16:59:56.509Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/florida-surgeon-general-ladapo-takes-aim-states-vaccine-mandates-rcna228838

The Washington Post published a memorable analysis in 2022 that noted, “For months, we’ve written in this space about how the Republicans’ pushback against coronavirus vaccine mandates could foment — and apparently has been fomenting — opposition to mandates of other vaccines, including for schoolchildren.”

With this in mind, the latest news out of Florida is dangerous, but it’s not altogether surprising. NBC News reported:

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said Wednesday that the state will work to eliminate all vaccine mandates. ‘All of them. All of them,’ he said during a news conference as the crowd stood and erupted in applause. ‘Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.’ He said the Florida Department of Health will work in partnership with the governor. He said forcing vaccine mandates is ‘wrong’ and ‘immoral.’

No other state has gone nearly this far.......

But that perspective is mistaken: If Florida moves forward with plans to target all of the state’s vaccine mandates, not only will children suffer from preventable diseases, but Floridians will start exporting contagions and serious ailments to other Americans — and in all likelihood, even to other countries.

In 2021, The Washington Post’s Benjy Sarlin noted that it seemed likely that the United States would “end up with fewer vaccine requirements in some places than we started with before the pandemic” that has killed millions of people around the world.

That might’ve sounded ridiculous, but four years later, it’s an unsettling assessment that’s holding up well.