TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A bill that would expand vaccine exemptions for K-12 schools passed its second committee hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday, but only after some Republican members expressed concern over the proposal.
Some GOP members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday argued the measure (SB 1756) would put vulnerable children at risk and bring back previously eradicated diseases.
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“My physician has said to me, ‘Gayle, I don’t want to learn how to treat polio,’ and that’s what’s going to happen,” said Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart. “I truly believe that this is a dangerous bill, and I cannot vote for it, I’m sorry.”
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, passed on a 10-7 vote, with Harrell and Sen. Tom Wright, R-New Smyrna Beach, joining Democrats voting against it.
It creates a new “conscience” category for parents to opt out of immunizations typically required for children to attend public K-12 schools.
Health care practitioners who administer vaccines would also be required to provide information about those vaccines to parents, who would then have to sign for approval. Alternative vaccination schedules would be required to be offered to parents as well.
Florida’s surgeon general would be stripped of the power to require a vaccine during a public health emergency under the bill.
“This bill supports the values we all hold dear: Transparency, educated decision making, the right to an education, and the right of Florida’s parents to make decisions they believe are best for their children,” Yarborough said.
Another provision allows pharmacists to provide ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug often prescribed for animals, over-the-counter for adults without a prescription. The drug is seen by some as helpful against COVID-19, but medical professionals have warned against its use to combat the virus. Pharmacists would be given immunity from liability under the bill.
Sen. Ralph Massullo, R-Lecanto, told Yarborough during debate that he would vote for the bill on Tuesday but would not vote on it on the Senate floor unless some changes were made.
Those include requiring the same information about vaccines provided to parents who opt their children out of vaccinations.
“Everyone should be given the same information that is scientifically accurate and true,” Massullo said in a text message. “I believe in parents’ rights, and we have the responsibility to be sure they are well informed.”
In the committee meeting, Massullo also questioned the necessity to include ivermectin in the bill.
“I think it’s a little bit of a red herring. I sort of wish it wasn’t in your bill,” Massullo said. “I don’t believe the drug is that dangerous to have over the counter, but I believe that you are sort of falling to peer pressure as far as what some undocumented studies have shown.”
The bill has one more stop in the Rules Committee before it hits the Senate floor.
Its House companion bill (HB 917) goes even farther, requiring doctors to accept all patients, regardless of vaccination status. Currently Florida law allows a physicians to turn away a patient if they aren’t vaccinated.
While First Lady Casey DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo have publicly urged the legislature to consider the House bill, it has yet to be heard in the House.
Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ladapo called on the Legislature with repealing all vaccine mandates in the state. The Department of Health has started the rulemaking process of repealing requirements for Hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for public school attendance.
But the repeal of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, polio, diphtheria, rubeola and tetanus, requires legislative action. No legislator this session has filed a bill to remove those requirements from Florida law.