Medical experts 'profoundly concerned' as DeSantis looks to end vaccine requirements

Hours after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the Department of Health and the Legislature would work hand-in-hand to repeal vaccine mandates in the state, national organizations, state university medical centers and former Florida officials came out against the move.

Ladapo has been Florida's surgeon general since 2021 and is also a professor of medicine at the University of Florida. But the university's academic health center, UF Health, stood firm in a statement that vaccines are "safe" and "essential."

"Public health and safety is a shared responsibility," the institution said in a statement. "The overwhelming consensus of the medical and public health communities show that vaccines are among the most studied and scrutinized medical interventions in history.

"They are proven to be safe, effective, and essential in preventing the spread of many serious infectious diseases," it added. "Following evidence-based practices regarding vaccines and other care decisions are best made in consultation with your health care professional."

Conservative reaction was largely positive, with many framing Ladapo's stance as a refusal, as one person put it , to "bow to (Big) Pharma or the bureaucrats."

For example, Dr. Simone Gold – founder and President of America's Frontline Doctors, the far-right group formed to oppose COVID restrictions – posted, "This is real leadership — defying Pharma's coercion and restoring true medical freedom."

Florida law mandates many vaccinations against childhood illnesses

According to Florida law , immunizations are required for polio, diphtheria (a bacterial infection), rubeola (measles), rubella (a viral infection, also called German measles), pertussis (whooping cough), mumps, tetanus and other communicable diseases as determined under rules promulgated by the Department of Health.

Ladapo, who heads the Department of Health, said he will repeal the rules within his purview that require vaccines, and that the governor and the Legislature will work to repeal the rest.

"Why are they doing this? I don't know," Dr. Scott Rivkees, Ladapo's immediate predecessor as surgeon general told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida. "The role of government is a government of the people and for the people, and how this is for the people is head wagging."

Rivkees quit in September 2021 after being shunned by Gov. Ron DeSantis for encouraging COVID-19 precautions when the governor wanted little focus on preventive measures.

He said this isn't the first time Ladapo has defied expert medical advice, citing a measles outbreak in South Florida in 2024 that sickened nine people.

Ladapo said parents and guardians could decide whether to send their children back to school instead of requiring an isolation period, a statement that conflicted with federal and medical professional recommendations that children from the school should remain at home to prevent the spread of measles. 

"More than 200 students did not go to school because the parents did not feel safe sending their children to school even though their children were vaccinated," said Rivkees, now a professor of practice at the Brown University School of Public Health. "This will lead to a situation where you're going to have more public confusion, you're going to have more children who are going to be out of school when you have an outbreak or a case at school, which is predictably going to happen more and more.

"More children are going to suffer educational losses and illnesses which could have been prevented," he added.

DeSantis' and Ladapo's announcement at a press conference on Sept. 3 was paired with the creation of a state version of a " Make America Healthy Again " commission, which will be led by First Lady Casey DeSantis. At the federal level, MAHA is led by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tasked with investigating chronic illness and delivering an action plan to fight childhood diseases.

Kennedy, however, has promoted  misinformation  on vaccines in the past, and recently  fired  Susan Monarez as the Centers for Disease Control director after a dispute over vaccination policy. At the press conference, DeSantis joked Ladapo now should be considered for the CDC director's position.

Florida vaccine guidance: Pediatricians 'profoundly concerned,' doctor says

Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a past president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said she is "profoundly concerned."

"This decision could have severe and potentially deadly repercussions for children and vulnerable adults," she said.

Gwynn, who practices in South Florida, said vaccinations are one of the most effective measures for preventing the spread of infectious diseases. They not only protect those who receive them but also safeguard individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons.

"Removing these mandates could lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases, putting countless lives at risk," she told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida.

For example, in Florida, the vaccination rate for those who have completed all five doses of the TDAP vaccine, which prevents tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, is about 88.1%. Herd immunity for pertussis requires 92% to 94%.

Last year, the number of  whooping cough cases  in Florida soared. From Jan. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024, the Florida Department of Health reported 715 cases of pertussis – an eight-fold increase over the year before, which had 85 cases.

On the national level, Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said every family should have access to immunizations because illnesses not only affect children but also their families, and therefore the workforce and local economy.

"We are concerned that today's announcement by Gov. DeSantis will put children in Florida public schools at higher risk for getting sick, and have ripple effects across their community," Kressly said.

And Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, speaking on behalf of the American Medical Association, said the group "strongly opposes Florida's plan to end all vaccine mandates, including those required for school attendance."

"This unprecedented rollback would undermine decades of public health progress and place children and communities at increased risk for diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox resulting in serious illness, disability, and even death," said Fryhofer, a board-certified physician of internal medicine and member of the AMA Board of Trustees. "While there is still time, we urge Florida to reconsider this change to help prevent a rise of infectious disease outbreaks that put health and lives at risk."

Democrats speak out, call for governor to fire Ladapo

Florida Democrats also criticized the move by Ladapo and DeSantis, calling the move to repeal all vaccination requirements "ridiculous" and "reckless."

"Republicans have gone from entertaining anti-science conspiracy theories to fully endorsing an anti-science health policy," Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Boca Raton said in a statement.

"As a member of the Senate Health Policy Committee, I'll be doing everything in my power to protect our kids from these reckless attempts to harm them."

Democratic candidate for governor David Jolly even called on the governor to fire Ladapo. He called the announcement "dangerous and deeply irresponsible."

"For generations, vaccines have protected kids, families, and schools from outbreaks of preventable diseases. Stripping away these protections, puts politics ahead of science and needlessly endangers the health of our communities. Florida families deserve leaders who will put the safety of our children first and not gamble with their futures," Jolly said in a news release.

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa said the DeSantis and Ladapo plan was "stunningly reckless."

"I encourage everyone to read about the horrifying effects of these diseases," Driskell said in a press release.

"Polio can paralyze muscles, measles can cause pneumonia and brain swelling, and both can kill. Hepatitis B destroys your liver. Chicken pox causes high fever and a painful rash. These diseases devastated families and stole lives for years before vaccines were developed to protected us. They're all preventable, but only if our kids take the vaccines."

Editor's note — The day after this story published online, a UF Health spokesperson clarified that its statement was not from the CEO, but rather from the institution. The spokesperson described an internal error in which the statement was mistakenly attributed to the CEO.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at  agonilessan@gannett.com . 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida targets vaccine mandates; doctors are 'profoundly concerned'