Governor Ron DeSantis and state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo have announced that Florida will work to phase out all childhood vaccine mandates in the state, making it the first in the nation to do so. Vaccines protecting against once-common and sometimes deadly childhood diseases like polio and measles have long been required for children at schools across the U.S.

DeSantis also announced on Wednesday the creation of a state-level "Make America Healthy Again" commission modeled after similar initiatives pushed at the federal level by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr .

The vaccine announcement, which Ladapo said would allow people to make their own decisions, drew criticism from physician groups and other health leaders who stress that the vaccines a

See Full Page