Florida Department of Health advances plan to drop four school vaccine mandates
Mon, August 24, 2026 at 9:27 PM
UpdatedMon, August 24, 2026 at 10:05 PM
The Florida Department of Health is moving forward with a plan to remove four vaccine mandates for children in public and private schools. (FILE)
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health is moving forward with a plan to remove four vaccine mandates for children in public and private schools
Physicians and parents have mixed reactions to the news. This comes nearly a year after Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced his intent to get rid of all vaccine mandates in the state
Florida is moving forward with a proposal that would eliminate school-entry requirements for four vaccines: Hepatitis B, chickenpox, Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (HIB), and pneumococcal disease
The recommendation from the Florida Department of Health would apply to public and private students in pre-K through 12th grade
Some health experts warn lower vaccination rates could leave more children vulnerable to preventable diseases
“Children under the age of 12 months are more susceptible to chicken pox,” Community Health Northwest Florida Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Klawitter said. “The Hepatitis B vaccine, the HIB, those are all early-stage vaccines. And so any delay in getting those vaccines in a newborn or an infant can cause the infant to have these diseases and can have devastating results.”
“With decreased vaccination comes decreased herd immunity,” he said. “If enough people are vaccinated against the disease, the chance of catching it naturally decreases.”
Some medical experts argue a parent’s decision isn’t black-and-white
“Yeah, no one wants polio,” family doctor Dr. Joel Rudman said. “No one wants tetanus. Those shots are going to remain required.”
“The four of you mentioned that the surgeon general is thinking of taking action on, I think you can find disagreement among physicians. I think you can find disagreements among health interest groups, like for example, Hepatitis B. I get a lot of patients that come in, new parents, and they say, ‘Look, we’ve just had a baby. How is a baby going to contract Hepatitis B?’ Generally speaking, you get Hepatitis B. It’s either blood-borne or it’s sexually transmitted. So again, they say, ‘How does this affect a two-month-old?'”
The proposed rule also expands religious and personal belief school exemptions to the four vaccines
“So we do have to be mindful that we live in the United States of America and people have the right to decide what they put in their bodies,” Rudman said. “And so if you have a moral or religious or a conscientious objection to these things, doctors do have to abide by that.”
The state Department of Health has now opened a 21-day period for public input before final approval
