Florida surgeon general says decision to end school vaccine requirements wasn't based on data [View all]

Source: CBS News

HEALTHWATCH
Florida surgeon general says decision to end school vaccine requirements wasn't based on data

By Dr. Céline Gounder
Edited By Paula Cohen
September 8, 2025 / 3:50 PM EDT / CBS News

Florida's top health official said last week that the state will start dismantling school vaccine mandates, something no other state has done in modern U.S. history. On Sunday, in a CNN interview with Jake Tapper, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo confirmed that his department did no data analysis or projections on how the change could affect outbreaks of diseases like measles, polio or whooping cough.

When Tapper pressed him, Ladapo said he didn't think modeling was needed. "Ultimately, this is an issue very clearly of parents' rights," he said. "So do I need to analyze whether it's appropriate for parents to be able to decide what goes into their [child's body]? I don't need to do an analysis on that."

The rollback, announced on Sept. 3, starts with rule changes that drop vaccine requirements for hepatitis B and chickenpox. Other vaccines — like those for measles, polio and whooping cough (pertussis) — are written into state law, so lawmakers would have to vote to remove them. Ladapo said he also wants those gone, calling vaccine rules a violation of "bodily autonomy."

Without projections about the potential impact, hospitals can't plan for enough staff, beds or children's ICU care if there are outbreaks of preventable diseases. Between 2008 and 2022, the U.S. lost about 20% of children's hospital beds, especially in rural areas, which means many families must travel farther to get care. Children's hospitals aren't built to handle big waves of sick kids. During the influenza, COVID and RSV surges in 2022 and 2023, hospitals quickly ran out of space.

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Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-surgeon-general-school-vaccine-requirements/