Florida will roll back all of its vaccine mandates, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced Wednesday during a press conference with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ladapo’s Statement
“Every last one is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo said.
“Who am I, or anyone else, to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right.”
Ladapo, who holds both an MD and Ph.D. from Harvard, was appointed by DeSantis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has since become one of the nation’s most outspoken critics of vaccine mandates and has repeatedly questioned the safety of mRNA technology.
🚨 MAJOR BREAKING: The Surgeon General of Florida just announced ALL VACCINE MANDATES IN FLORIDA will be ENDED, and the room erupted.
All. Not just COVID. ALL.
JOSEPH LADAPO: “Every last one is wrong and DRIPS with disdain and slavery! Who am I, or anyone else, to tell YOU what… pic.twitter.com/Kah5LscGTo
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 3, 2025
Current Requirements
Florida currently requires seven childhood vaccines for school and day care entry, including polio, hepatitis B, and chickenpox.
Ladapo did not provide a timeline for when these mandates would be lifted but made clear that Florida intends to phase them out entirely.
Broader Health Initiative
The vaccine announcement was part of a larger rollout of Florida’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, modeled after the federal-level initiative led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
DeSantis said the Florida panel will focus on parental rights, nutrition, and alternative health approaches. It will be chaired by First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, with Ladapo serving as a key member.
“I think that this is something that has great potential,” DeSantis said. “We’ve already done a lot. I don’t think there’s any state that has done even close to what we’ve done.”
