HHS secretary RFK Jr. and the American Academy of Pediatrics are at a odds above COVID-19 vaccines.

Florida is moving to end all vaccine mandates in the state.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” said Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida's surgeon general, at a Sept. 3 press conference in Valrico, Hillsborough County.

“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift from God,” Ladapo said.

Vaccine requirements are in state law. Ladapo, the state's top public health official, said lawmakers will “have to choose a side.” To those who don’t want to get vaccinated, he said, “God bless you.”

The press conference was a chance for Ladapo, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and other state leaders, including Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas and state lawmakers to appeal to the growing anti-vaccination movement.

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

According to Florida law, immunizations are required for polio, diphtheria, rubeola, rubella, pertussis, mumps, tetanus, and other communicable diseases as determined by rules promulgated by the Department of Health.

In a statement, the head of the American Academy of Pediatrics disagreed with Florida decision.

"The AAP believes every family should have access to immunizations to keep their community healthy. Schools are an important part of that community," said AAP President Dr. Susan J. Kressly. "For many kids, the best part of school is being with friends — sharing space, playing on the playground and trading germs. Close contact makes it easy for contagious diseases to spread quickly. That’s why most schools require routine childhood immunizations. When everyone in a school is vaccinated, it’s harder for diseases to spread, and easier for everyone to keep the fun and learning going. When children are sick and miss school, parents also miss work, which not only impacts those families, but also the 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."

The announcement 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.

“I really applaud what they’re doing at the national level with the MAHA movement,” Casey DeSantis said. “A lot of these drugs, you don’t need them if you live a healthy lifestyle. If you’re eating fruits and vegetables, you can reverse a lot of these chronic conditions.”

Gov. DeSantis called out pediatricians who refuse to accept patients whose parents don’t want to vaccinate their children: “Unless there’s a really clear reason to put something in, then I wouldn’t do it.”

During his comments, DeSantis restated his anti-mask and anti-COVID mandate sentiments, criticizing Anthony Fauci, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical experts over their stance on COVID-19 protocols. Fauci was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, the governor’s office also sold “Don’t Fauci My Florida” merchandise. “When they were saying follow the science, they were really saying follow their political science,” DeSantis said.

He touted the state’s decision to keep schools and businesses open in the fall of 2020 and 2021 when other states and medical experts wanted to keep mask mandates and establish social distancing policies.

“People needed a voice of reason and sanity, and the state of Florida filled that void, not just for the state but for our country,” DeSantis said.

At the end of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Florida ranked 26th in deaths per capita, then rose to 10th a few months into the Delta wave in 2021.

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.

Currently 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%.

As previously reported, in 2024, a measles outbreak in Miami-Dade resulted in nine infections. DOH's response at the time was criticized after Ladapo contradicted federal and medical professional guidance to contain the spread.

According to the CDC, only 88.1% of kindergarteners in Florida were vaccinated against measles in 2023-24. Herd immunity for measles requires a 95% vaccination rate.

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

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida moves to kill vaccine mandates; state surgeon general calls them ‘slavery’

Reporting by Ana Goñi-Lessan, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida / Sarasota Herald-Tribune

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