State health officials have heard sharply divided testimony on a proposal backed by Ron DeSantis and Joseph Ladapo to remove requirements for four childhood vaccines, while allowing some young adults to leave Florida’s immunisation registry.
Florida health officials heard hours of testimony on Wednesday as they weighed a proposal that could remove four childhood vaccines from school entry requirements in the state.
The public hearing at the Orlando Marriott in Lake Mary drew more than 100 people, including some parents who brought their children. The Florida Department of Health is considering whether to end mandates for hepatitis B, chickenpox, Haemophilus influenzae type B and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for pupils in public and private schools from kindergarten through year 12. The move would push ahead with a broader effort backed by Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to scale back vaccine requirements in Florida.
Ladapo told the meeting the department believed parental rights should come first, and said he found it troubling when doctors dismiss a mother’s instincts. Supporters and critics of the plan then took turns at the microphone, with one speaker arguing that the success of vaccination should not be used as a reason to abandon the measures that made it possible, while another said health depends more on lifestyle choices than on injections.
Some attendees described illnesses they believe were linked to vaccines, but paediatricians who spoke at the hearing pointed to children they have treated for preventable diseases. That split reflected the wider debate around the proposal, which Florida officials first advanced in August and then kept moving through the state rule-making process as public comments came in.
The plan also includes a change affecting some college students aged 18 to 23 who were vaccinated through school health centres or clinics, allowing them to opt out of Florida SHOTS, the state immunisation registry. A separate provision that would have expanded religious exemptions to include moral or ethical beliefs was removed from the proposal, according to reporting by WUSF.
The health department has said it reviewed the regulatory cost of changing the mandate, but has not assessed the wider economic impact. Written comments on the proposal can be submitted until 19 October.
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