Florida’s announcement that it would scrap public school vaccine mandates next year hit Elizabeth particularly hard. Her 11-year-old daughter suffers from a rare immunodeficiency disorder that requires biweekly plasma infusions to provide some protection against disease.

But she can still be out of school for 50 days during the school year — and Elizabeth is worried that falling vaccine rates will make their situation far worse.

“By taking the mandate away, you're telling people that you don't care whether they get the vaccines or not. So why would a parent of a healthy kid want to do it?” she asked. “They need to do it for the other people in their lives who could be in danger.”

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Lapado announced in September that, starting in January, the state would no l

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