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A South Florida primary care physician is expressing his concerns that Florida’s plan to rid vaccine mandates will affect the entire country and the health care system as a whole.
By law, children in Florida must get vaccinated against diseases like whooping cough, polio and mumps in order to attend school. However, according to the Associated Press, Florida has lagged behind the rest of the country when it comes to kindergartners being immunized for diseases like measles. In 2025, 88.7% were immunized compared to more than 92% nationwide. New religious exemptions for vaccines have also increased.
Last week, state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo called these requirements “immoral” and announced the Health Department would be taking steps to eliminate the mandates. Some requirements will require the Legislature to pass a new law. If done, Florida would be the first state in the country to do this.
“Who am I as a government or anyone else or as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body?” Ladapo said. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in your body?”
Ladapo and other Republicans have expressed that removing requirements will protect parental rights when it comes to making medical decisions for their families. Whereas Democrats and medical groups are worried it will put children at higher risk and affect the rest of society.
What it means for Polk County:
- In 2025, just over 92% of Polk County kindergarteners were up to date on required vaccines, according to the Florida Department of Health.
- That’s above the state average (about 89%) — but still a drop from Polk’s earlier highs of 96-97% a decade ago.
- In 2025, just over 94% of Polk County seventh graders were up to date on required vaccines, the Department of Health reports.
- That’s above the state average (about 92%) — also a drop from Polk’s earlier highs of nearly 98% a decade ago.
Why it matters
- Anything under 95% leaves communities vulnerable to outbreaks of diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Polk has more than 117,000 children currently enrolled in school, according to Polk County Public Schools.
- Even a small drop in vaccination rates translates to thousands of students entering classrooms unprotected against measles, mumps, or whooping cough.
Local voices
- Watson Clinic released a statement saying: “Watson Clinic is closely monitoring the potential elimination of vaccine and immunization mandates for school-aged children across the state of Florida. We believe these vaccines have proven overwhelmingly beneficial to the health of our children and the community; therefore, we will await further development of the state’s recent proposal.”
During the announcement, Gov. Ron DeSantis also mentioned how there are more vaccines recommended than when he was a kid.
On “The Florida Roundup,” American College of Physicians president Dr. Jason Goldman, a primary care physician in Broward County, said this is true. But he, on the other hand, sees it as a good thing.
“It’s called modern medicine and advancement,” Goldman said. “So just because there are more vaccines, that means we’re getting smarter and able to prevent more diseases that didn’t exist before.”
He added that the interactivity of vaccines has been studied multiple times and that it is safe and effective to give multiple vaccines together.
Goldman said that not having requirements could potentially have a ripple effect when it comes to insurance.
He explained that if vaccines are not recommended by an advisory committee, the insurance companies are then not mandated to cover them.
This could then impact the Vaccines for Children program, which provides vaccines to millions who can’t afford them. Not having the requirements could make it more difficult financially for some parents to vaccinate their children.
“So it doesn’t just affect the individual, it affects the country as a whole,” Goldman said.
How will no vaccine mandates affect the supply?
Goldman said this could then affect the supply of vaccines. This is because if there isn’t an ability to pay for them and if the manufacturers don’t supply them, it’s going to decrease access.
“And that’s going to hurt those who want to get vaccines and need those vaccines,” Goldman said.
Overall, Goldman believes that not having state mandates will increase the cost of the health care system. Since this was just announced last week, there are still unknowns about what the exact impact will be in the long run.
“We live in an ecosystem. We are all interconnected,” Goldman said. “The real issue is if you get sick with a vaccine-preventable disease, end up in the hospital, you’re increasing cost to the system. You’re decreasing access of care for others who may need that hospitalization because you’re taking up a bed that could have been used for other services and you are expanding the cost of the entire system.”
This report was compiled from interviews conducted by Tom Hudson for “The Florida Roundup.” Local reporting was contributed by Kayla Borg, LkldNow.
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