Florida has taken a troubling new step toward dismantling long-standing childhood vaccine protections. The Florida Department of Health is moving to eliminate four vaccine requirements for school attendance—chickenpox (varicella), hepatitis B, Hib, and pneumococcal disease—without any vote from the Legislature or approval from the governor.

These vaccines are not optional add-ons. They are the reason entire generations of children were spared from paralysis, brain damage, amputations, and death. Pediatricians who have practiced for decades testified that diseases like Hib and pneumococcal meningitis all but disappeared once these vaccines became routine. Survivors of vaccine-preventable illnesses described lifelong injuries and months spent in hospitals—experiences that vaccines are specifically designed to prevent.

Florida’s own data shows childhood immunization rates are already falling, dropping from about 94% of kindergartners in 2020 to roughly 89% this year. Public health experts warn that weakening mandates further will accelerate that decline and invite outbreaks of diseases that never truly disappeared. These pathogens still circulate, especially in a state like Florida that welcomes more than 140 million visitors each year.

Even more alarming, this proposal expands vaccine exemptions beyond religion to include broadly defined “personal beliefs,” making it far easier to opt out while offering no safeguards for children who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. When mandates are weakened, vaccine use drops. When mandates are strengthened, vaccination rates rise. This pattern is well documented in states across the country.

This decision is being driven by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who has vowed to eliminate “every last” vaccine mandate and has compared these lifesaving protections to slavery. Public health leaders nationwide have warned that this approach ignores decades of evidence and places ideology above children’s lives.

We call on the Florida Department of Health and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to immediately halt this rule change. Florida lawmakers and state leaders must intervene to stop the erosion of vaccine protections that keep schools safe and communities healthy.

Florida should not become the first state to willingly undo one of the greatest public health successes in modern history. Our children deserve policies guided by evidence, compassion, and responsibility.

Stop this rule change and keep vaccine protections in place for Florida’s children.