Florida says it plans to end all vaccine mandates

[Danmel]

Florida plans to become the first state to end all vaccine mandates, including for schoolchildren, rejecting a practice that public health experts have credited for decades with limiting the spread of infectious diseases.

Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, the Florida surgeon general, made the announcement on Wednesday alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. Mr. DeSantis rose to national prominence during the coronavirus pandemic, and over time he has espoused increasingly anti-vaccine views.

“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body?” Dr. Ladapo, a vocal denigrator of vaccines, said to applause during an event on Wednesday in Valrico, Fla., near Tampa. “Your body is a gift from God.



https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/us/florida-says-it-plans-to-end-all-vaccine-mandates.html

[Lovie777]

1. Florida has really falling backwards.......

wonder how tourism going? Wonder if Floridians are leaving?

[Intractable]

7. From Google: Florida's population has been increasing rapidly ...

Florida's population has been increasing rapidly, reaching an 8.24% growth rate between July 2020 and July 2024, the fastest in the U.S. over that period. This rate is driven by factors like international migration and population growth in the South. The state's population increased by approximately 467,347 people from 2023 to 2024, placing it second in numeric gains behind Texas.

[Mariana]

14. Florida is the biggest MAGAt magnet in the country by far.

Republican voting retirees have been pouring into Florida for years. Places like The Villages and its clones have been growing like weeds. They’ve turned the state from purple to red red red.

[newdeal2]

2. I hope never to set foot in that state again

Not until they regain their senses.

[WVlaserguy]

3. I have to visit

My 91 year old mom lives there. But I will spend as few dollars as possible

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. You double posted in the same forum. Best move is to quickly self-delete the one with fewest replies. . . nt

[spanone]

5. The United States of Stupidity.

[Norrrm]

6. Does DeSantis say how many dead children are acceptable from measles and other diseases?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. A state to avoid like the plague

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. It's bad enough too many states allow

a bullshit "religious" exemption to vaccines.

Not that you could pay me to live in Florida, but this just helps keep me from even visiting.

[Johonny]

10. What is the point of the dude's job then?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Floriduh, the Sun Shinola state, home of Senior Orange and Dunce World. . . . nt

[Wuddles440]

12. They're all about personal "freedom"...

regarding healthcare except when it comes to sexual relations and reproduction.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. 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.

[hatrack]

15. Viruses, bacteria and other pathogens are also gifts from God, "Doctor" . . . .

Have your well-earned MAGA fun, Floriduh. You voted for it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

16. Florida's state flag has been updated to show a child's grave.