ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida plans to become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates that have been a cornerstone of public health policy for decades in keeping schoolchildren and citizens safe from infectious diseases.

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as an “immoral” intrusion on people’s rights that hampers parents’ ability to make health decisions for their children.

“People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions,” Ladapo, who has frequently clashed with the medical establishment, said Wednesday at a news conference in Valrico. “They don’t have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.”

Physician groups and other health organizations have long considered vaccines

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