Florida proposes ending 4 school vaccine mandates

Florida health officials have proposed a rule change that would eliminate four vaccine requirements for students attending public and private schools in the state. The proposal, filed by the Florida Department of Health, would end the mandate for immunizations against chickenpox, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and pneumococcal disease.

The move is a key step in a long-running effort by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to remove all vaccine mandates. The proposed rule is now in a 21-day public comment period and is not yet final. Children in Florida are still required to have all four vaccines to attend school. Other vaccine requirements, including those for measles, mumps, polio, diphtheria, and tetanus, are established in state law and would require legislative action to change.

Ladapo has repeatedly condemned vaccine mandates, arguing they violate bodily autonomy. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” he said at a September 2025 press conference. “Who am I to tell you what your child should be putting in their body?”

The state’s proposal diverges from recommendations made by President Donald Trump in an executive order issued...