Every state and D.C. require certain vaccinations for children to attend school or childcare — mandates that date back decades and are a core public health defense against infectious disease. Since last summer, Florida leaders have sought to be the first state to roll back some of those requirements. Anti-vaccine rhetoric and efforts to change laws and regulations played out at the state health department and in the legislature, but by March the push appeared stalled. A special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 15 — running through Friday — revived the fight. The session’s agenda includes redistricting, potential AI protections, and “medical freedom” around vaccines.
The outcome in Florida could signal how similar movements fare elsewhere. An Associated Press analysis found at least 350 anti-vaccine bills were introduced in state legislatures last year, many aimed at relaxing school vaccine requirements.
On Sept. 3, DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo held a press conference at a private Christian school where Ladapo said the state would work to end all vaccine mandates. He called mandates “wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” asking, “Who am I, as a government, or anyone else — or who am I, as a man standing here, to tell you what you should put in your body?”
DeSantis is term-limited with months left in office, and political timing matters: midterm elections are approaching and analysts say the GOP majority is sensitive to voter sentiment. But the loud rhetoric has not guaranteed legislative success. Kelly Whitener, a health policy researcher at Georgetown, noted many bills that generate headlines don’t pass. There is often a gap between vocal opposition from a minority and broader public support for vaccination: most people continue to back near-universal childhood vaccination to protect those who can’t be vaccinated.
Some of the vaccines targeted for change are set by department rule rather than statute. Four childhood vaccines — for meningitis, chickenpox and hepatitis B among them — are regulated by the Florida Department of Health. The department held a public forum on Dec. 12 in Panama City where public comment lasted for hours. Supporters of keeping mandates, including Jamie Schanbaum — who lost legs and fingers after contracting meningitis — slightly outnumbered opponents. Teachers and health practitioners spoke of seeing polio and other devastating disease outcomes overseas. Opponents framed the issue as one of freedom; Larry Downs Jr. told the forum, “This is about freedom. The default setting should be freedom, not these corporate chemical vaccine injections.”
Since that forum, the health department has not advanced rule changes publicly. It has not filed required paperwork, including a statement of regulatory costs estimating impacts on personal income, tourism, or the workforce. The department told NPR it is “currently in the rulemaking process” and would post updates in the Florida Administrative Register.
Legislatively, little progressed during the regular session. Senate Bill 1756 did not remove mandates but added a new exemption: parents could claim a conscience exemption in addition to existing medical and religious exemptions. That kind of nonmedical exemption already exists in 17 states. Democrats opposed the bill, and some Republicans raised concerns. State Sen. Gayle Harrell warned that easing exemptions amid a recent measles uptick was risky; Florida this year had the fourth-highest number of measles cases, with more than 140 reported.
The bill also at one point included a permanent ban on mandates for any mRNA-based vaccines and would have allowed nonprescription sales of ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that became popular during COVID-19 as an alternative treatment despite scant evidence. Former Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees condemned that provision, likening over-the-counter ivermectin for self-diagnosed conditions to poor medical practice. A House version of the broader “medical freedom” bill, which would have also allowed the Department of Health to discipline providers who refused to treat unvaccinated patients, never made it to committee and died.
Public opinion data show tensions between political rhetoric and parents’ views. A national KFF/Washington Post poll found 81% of parents support school vaccine requirements. Jen Kates of KFF said parents generally back mandates to protect children, including in Florida. Yet skepticism of public health rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, and activists such as Barbara Loe Fisher — who has campaigned against mandates since the 1980s — expect that mistrust to persist and grow.
Special sessions are unpredictable, and even stalled efforts can resurface. Florida’s debate — spanning rulemaking at the health department, legislative proposals, vocal public comment, and partisan politics — will be watched closely as a potential model for other states considering similar measures.
This story is from NPR’s health reporting partnership with WUSF and KFF Health News.