The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends COVID-19 shots for children ages 6 months to 2 years and for older kids in certain instances.
VALRICO, Fla — Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the state’s Department of Health will be working to end all vaccine mandates.
At a news conference in Valrico, the health official said the government doesn’t have the right to tell citizens what to put in their bodies.
Ladapo didn’t give a specific timeline for when the mandates would be ended or how his team would achieve this.
“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” he said. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in your body?”
School immunization requirements for Florida include MMR, Hepatitis B, Polio, Measles-mumps-rubella, chickenpox and several others.
“It’s not that sometimes people will end up regretting the decision they made, and we’ve seen a lot of that from the COVID-19 pandemic. I mean, how many people put that poison in their bodies and wish they could turn back the hands of time?” Ladapo said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends COVID-19 shots for children ages 6 months to 2 years and advises for older children if parents want their kids vaccinated.
That differs from controversial guidance established under U.S. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which doesn’t recommend the shots for healthy children of any age but says kids may get them in consultation with physicians.
Kennedy also announced in August that the federal Department of Health would cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines being developed to fight respiratory viruses.
Florida would be the first state to not have a vaccine mandate if this plan goes through. No other state has a complete ban, but all states allow exemptions from immunization requirements for medical reasons. State laws also vary regarding religious or personal reasons, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also announced the creation of a commission that will help implement policies to “Make America Healthy Again,” stemming from federal efforts to create policies and strategies to address and end childhood chronic diseases.
Kennedy has brought children’s health to the forefront of the national policy conversation, unveiling in May a much-anticipated “Make America Healthy Again” report that described kids as undernourished and overmedicated, and raised concerns about their lack of physical activity.
The Florida commission will work to implement principles such as individual medical freedom, parents’ rights and informed consent, according to DeSantis.
Like the federal government, Florida officials said they will work to determine the causes of chronic diseases and help “restore trust” in Floridians with health care officials.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.