In a press conference today, Florida State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the state plans to "end all vaccine mandates."1 The state’s surgeon general has already made decisions in the past demonstrating his vaccine skepticism.
When there was a measles outbreak in Florida in early 2024, Ladapo wrote a letter giving parents and guardians the option to send their kids to school, but there was no mention of families getting the MMR vaccine if they have not already or been exposed to measles.2
In the letter, it stated: “When measles is detected in a school, it is normally recommended that individuals without history of prior infection or vaccination stay home for up to 21 days. This is the period of time that the virus can be transmitted.
Individuals with a history of prior infection or vaccination who have received the full series of the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) immunization are 98% protected and are unlikely to contract measles. Up to 90% of individuals without immunity will contract measles if exposed. Because of the high likelihood of infection, it is normally recommended that children stay home until the end of the infectious period, which is currently March 7, 2024. As the epidemiological investigation continues, this date could change.
NFID's Statement
“Vaccines are among the most effective, evidence-based tools we have to help protect children and communities from potentially serious diseases like measles, polio, whooping cough, and flu. Maintaining high vaccination rates helps create “community immunity,” which benefits those who are most at risk or may not be able to get vaccinated due to age or other reasons. While policy decisions are outside my purview, I am concerned by any effort that could result in lower vaccination rates. Vaccination helps children and families live healthy and active lives,” Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., MD, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), said in a statement.
However, due to the high immunity rate in the community, as well as the burden on families and educational cost of healthy children missing school, DOH [department of health] is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance. This recommendation may change as epidemiological investigations continue.”
In a joint interview today with our sister brand, Contemporary Pediatrics, and its Senior Editor Josh Fitch, Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP, president, IDSA, spoke about the potential impact of eliminating the vaccine mandates.
“That is really devastating news, because what's going to happen is you're going to see multiple outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases that are now going to spread very quickly, not only in Florida, but all over the US and then internationally,” Tan said.
Not only will children be vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases, but everyone who comes into contact with unvaccinated people who are at higher risk for disease or other unvaccinated people will be as well.
“We need to protect everyone against getting a vaccine-preventable disease, because if a kid got it In school, they can bring it home,” Tan said. “And you know, there are people with immunocompromising conditions that can't receive certain vaccines, so you need to protect them. The other problem is that if a growing number of individuals aren't vaccinated, this is really going to cause these diseases to spread far and wide.”
And in terms of this being an outlier or just the tip of the iceberg for other states to follow suit, Tan believes it to be the latter. “Yes, this is basically the first state, but this is opening the door for other states to do this,” Tan said.
References
1. Good Morning America. Twitter. September 3, 2025. Accessed September 3, 2025.
https://x.com/GMA/status/
2.Parkinson J. Measles Outbreaks: How Complacency Associated With Immunizations and COVID-19 are Driving Increases. Contagion. February 29, 2024. https://www.contagionlive.com/view/measles-outbreaks-how-complacency-associated-with-immunizations-and-covid-19-are-driving-increases
