VALRICO, Fla. – Florida officials are working to end all vaccine mandates, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced in a news conference on Wednesday.
Ladapo joined Gov. Ron DeSantis in Hillsborough County to announce that the Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is working to eliminate school immunization requirements.
“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” said Ladapo.
Press play in video below to watch Ladapo’s remarks
Ladapo’s remarks are drawing national scrutiny. Former Congresswoman Val Demings was among those who responded to the surgeon general’s remarks.
“Anyone who compares lifesaving vaccinations to slavery has something truly wrong with them,” Demings wrote.
Anyone who compares lifesaving vaccinations to slavery has something truly wrong with them.
— Val Demings (@valdemings) September 3, 2025
I would be careful taking medical advice from any surgeon general who makes such a wild statement. People will clearly do and say anything when blinded by political ambition. SMH.
Some of the current school immunization requirements include Hepatitis B, chickenpox and measles-mumps-rubella.
“Those are gonna be gone. And we’re gonna be working with our amazing DeSantis and our wonderful lawmakers to get rid of the rest. It’s gonna be good. We need to end it,” Ladapo said.
TELL US: What do you think about Florida potentially eliminating vaccine mandates? Share your response in the form below, and it may be used on air or online.
DeSantis said he supports Ladapo’s initiative to eliminate vaccine mandates and that the state will create a “big medical freedom package” to ensure people are not discriminated against regardless of their vaccine choices.
“It was wrong to do vaccine passports in 2021. It’s wrong to do them in 2025, and it will be wrong to do them in 2035, and we need to make that permanent,” DeSantis said.
Some in the medical community are sounding the alarm.
“England did away with their mandated vaccine for children—guidelines—and they saw a huge increase in not only the morbidity or the illness rates of their children, but also in the mortality rates. Do we really want to put our kids at risk of death for vaccine-preventable diseases?” Dr. Mary Soha, a retired pediatrician, said.
Dr. Sunil Joshi, Chief Health Officer for the City of Jacksonville, released the following statement in response to Ladapo’s announcement:
“Vaccines have had a profound and lasting impact on public health, protecting children from life-threatening diseases. Without vaccination, a child exposed to measles faces and 90% chance of infection, there’s a one and 200 risk of paralysis from polio, and chickenpox carries in 90% infection risk along with potential complications like pneumonia and brain inflammation. Ultimately the decision to vaccinate should be made in consultation with a trusted healthcare professional, such as the child’s pediatrician.“
Dr. Sunil Joshi, Chief Health Officer for the City of Jacksonville
News4JAX Insiders also weighed in on the potential elimination of vaccine mandates.
“Amen! Let’s do it. Making it a requirement takes away our rights as human beings and our bodies, and more importantly, our children,” Lindsay wrote.
But others disagree.
“People seem to forget that these vaccines were created for a reason. Reversing decades of improving the health of our country is going to be a sure shot way of making sure our country suffers unnecessarily,” Leilani wrote.
The proposed changes are not yet law and would require legislative approval, and DeSantis has not said when the legislation will be introduced.
DeSantis also announced the creation of a state-level “Make America Healthy Again” commission modeled after similar initiatives pushed at the federal level by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
That commission will be chaired by the First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins.
Click here to read the full list of required school immunizations.