Florida plans to end all state vaccine mandates, including for children in schools, as announced by state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. This move would make Florida the first state to withdraw from requirements that have increased vaccination rates and prevented infectious disease outbreaks, potentially leading to fewer immunized school children.

Ladapo stated that the Florida Department of Health, in collaboration with the governor, will work to eliminate all vaccine mandates in Florida law, including the half a dozen shots currently mandated. Despite the benefits of vaccines, Ladapo views mandates as oppressive, though they have saved over 1.1 million children and $540 billion in health-care costs in the U.S.

Florida already allows vaccine objections on religious grounds, but Ladapo’s opposition to mandates has drawn criticism from the public health community. This move coincides with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to change vaccine policy in the U.S., including canceling funding for mRNA shot development and dropping Covid shot recommendations for certain groups.

Read more at CNBC: Florida to end all vaccine mandates, first state in the U.S. to do so