Florida Republicans advanced a bill this week aimed at weakening existing child vaccine protections, but the move highlighted a significant retreat from the radical anti-mandate demands made by state surgeon general Joseph Ladapo last year. The proposed new law, which seeks to expand exemptions for parents who don’t want their kids vaccinated before school, fell far short of Ladapo’s sweeping promise to eliminate compulsory immunizations completely.
Ladapo, who is a longtime vaccine skeptic appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis, caused massive controversy back in September when he declared that children in the state would no longer be required to receive vaccines against a number of preventable diseases. He didn’t just suggest policy change, either. He made it clear he expected his push to eliminate compulsory vaccinations would receive the blessing “of God.”
