Coronavirus vaccines
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida health officials are proposing to remove four vaccines from requirements for children attending public and private schools, advancing part of a broader effort by the DeSantis administration to eliminate vaccine mandates.
The proposal would remove requirements for hepatitis B, chickenpox, Haemophilus influenzae type b, known as Hib, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Other vaccinations required under state law would remain in place unless lawmakers act.
What would remain required
What we know:
The Florida Department of Health is proposing a rule that would eliminate requirements for the four vaccines for school attendance. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo approved the proposed rule Aug. 20.
Because those requirements were established through agency rules rather than state law, the Department of Health can remove them without approval from the Legislature.
The proposal is subject to a 21-day public input period before it can receive final approval. The department did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.
The rule would also broaden vaccine exemptions based on religious beliefs to include moral and ethical beliefs. It would allow parents and college students to opt out of having their vaccination records included in the state's vaccine database.
Florida currently allows a religious exemption when immunizations conflict with the religious beliefs and practices of a child's parent or guardian.
The proposal would not eliminate all vaccination requirements for Florida students.
State law still requires students without an exemption to receive certain vaccinations to attend K-12 public schools. Those include vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella, polio, diphtheria and tetanus.
Unlike the four requirements targeted by the Department of Health, requirements written into state law cannot be eliminated by the health department alone. The Legislature would have to change the law.
The backstory:
The proposal follows nearly a year of efforts by Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis to eliminate vaccine mandates in Florida.
In September 2025, DeSantis and Ladapo called on lawmakers to roll back all of the state's vaccine mandates. The effort was also supported by first lady Casey DeSantis and then-Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas.
Lawmakers, however, did not introduce legislation during multiple 2026 legislative sessions to eliminate the vaccine requirements contained in state law.
Separate attempts to pass a "Medical Freedom" bill would have expanded vaccine exemptions and required doctors to provide an alternative vaccination schedule. The legislation passed the Senate but failed in the House.
Timeline:
The Department of Health held a public meeting in Panama City in December 2025 to discuss possible changes to school vaccination requirements.
Emma Spencer, a department director, said at the time that the proposal was "grounded in policy based on considerations that favor parental rights and medical freedom."
The debate followed the September 2025 announcement by DeSantis and Ladapo calling for the elimination of vaccine mandates.
Ladapo approved the latest proposed rule Aug. 20, 2026, beginning a 21-day period for public input. The rule would still need final approval before taking effect.
Big picture view:
The proposal would allow the DeSantis administration to eliminate some school vaccine requirements administratively while requirements established by the Legislature remain intact.
Supporters have framed the issue around parental rights and allowing families to make their own medical decisions.
Doctors and major medical organizations have argued that vaccination requirements help prevent outbreaks of contagious diseases, particularly in schools where children spend extended periods in close contact.
At the December meeting, some parents' rights advocates supported eliminating the requirements. Some also repeated the false claim that vaccines cause autism. Doctors urged the state to reconsider the proposal, warning that reducing vaccination requirements could reverse progress against preventable diseases.
‘Your body is a gift from God’
What they're saying:
Ladapo has argued that decisions about vaccinations should rest with individuals and parents rather than the government.
"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," Ladapo said when announcing the broader effort in September 2025.
American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Susan Kressly warned that eliminating vaccine requirements could put children at greater risk of illness.
"The AAP believes every family should have access to immunizations to keep their community healthy," Kressly said in a statement. "Schools are an important part of that community."
Kressly said the close contact common among children in schools makes it easier for contagious illnesses to spread.
Eehab Kenawy, a Panama City pediatrician, argued that Florida's existing religious exemption already gives parents a way to decline vaccinations for their children.
"You’re not forced," Kenawy said. "But sending a message to the general public that vaccines are not important, vaccines are not needed, is not the way to do it."
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the News Service of Florida.