GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Children in Florida are required to get several vaccines before they begin school. It’s a requirement supported by Dr. Scott Rivkees.

“Schools should be places where children should be able to go to without having to worry about getting vaccine preventable diseases,” he told TV20.

He was the state’s former surgeon general during Gov. Ron DeSantis’ first term and helped lead the state during the start of COVID-19.

Rivkees is now a professor at Brown University, but is sounding off on the state’s plan to eliminate vaccines mandates for children. It’s a decision made earlier this month by Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the man who replaced Rivkees who left his post in 2021.

“We will tend to see outbreaks that will happen in schools which will then potentially spill into the

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