Healthcare experts slam Florida's plan to terminate vaccine mission
Florida plans to cancel all vaccine authorizations statewide, including schools, statewide, state vaccines, state surgeon Dr. Joseph Ladapo, a Florida surgeon, in a announcement at a news conference Wednesday. The move has sparked strong opposition from the healthcare community.
“Each of them is wrong and dripped with contempt and slavery,” longtime vaccine critic Ladapo argued. Florida will be the first state to end all vaccine requirements.
He said: “I am a man standing here now, telling you what you should put inside you? Who am I telling you that your child should put your body on you? His comment was posted with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The announcement comes as known vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources. Kennedy recently removed the CDC director and dismissed the agency’s independent vaccine advisory group and replaced them with vaccine skeptics.
According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that the vaccine has saved about 154 million lives in the past 50 years, with the vast majority being babies.
The American Medical Association has blasted Florida's plan to terminate all vaccine missions.
“This unprecedented rollback will undermine decades of public health advancement and put children and communities at risk for diseases such as measles, mumps, polio and chickenpox, leading to serious illness, disability and even death,” said Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, of the American Medical Association. “While there is still time, we urge Florida to rethink this change to help prevent the rise of infectious disease outbreaks and put health and life at risk.”
Executives at a company focused on connecting patients to the care needed, including vaccines, also condemned the news.
“I believe this decision has been seriously misled,” Eric Perakslis, chief science and data officer of Pluto Health and former chief information officer of the FDA, said in an email. “I have witnessed the devastating consequences first-hand when people suffer from diseases that may be eradicated or prevented in partnership with healthy partners and countries that are not readily available to vaccines. It is heartbreaking to watch communities endure avoidable diseases simply because they lack basic vaccines.”
Dr. Amy Bucher, chief conduct officer of Lirio, expressed concern about the Florida announcement. Lirio provides a personalized engine that combines behavioral science and AI. Bucher is also a researcher who recently conducted a study on vaccination behavior in the United States
“As a person who studies vaccine behaviors extensively, including those who already exist barriers to accessing and receiving vaccines, I find this decision deeply concerned. Vaccine requirements, especially in institutional settings such as schools, workplaces and healthcare facilities, play a key role in protecting public health,” Bucher said. “Removing them not only weakens the infrastructure that supports vaccine intake, but also sends signals that these preventive measures are optional or unnecessary.”
Photo: Pornpak Khunatorn, Getty Images
