This week, Florida became the first state to remove school vaccine mandates. This wasn’t done passively, it followed an angry rant by the state’s Surgeon General, who labeled mandatory vaccination an “immoral” intrusion on personal rights. Most doctors, parents, public health workers, and families do not support this move.
As a mother and a professional who has devoted my life to keeping children safe and healthy, I am distressed by this development. Similarly, the president of the National Association of School Nurses feels uneasy about this announcement and its consequences, saying this would invite “a health crisis that’s 100% avoidable.” She added that if vaccine-preventable illnesses begin to fester in schools, the children will bring them home to vulnerable populations like infants and the elderly.
2025 has already seen an uptick in Measles infections in under-immunized communities. The only thing preventing further spread is herd immunity— the critical portion of vaccinated individuals in a given group that halts widespread contagion and protects those who would otherwise be susceptible. Vaccine-preventable illnesses like Measles, Diphtheria, Mumps, Tetanus, Pertussis (Whooping Cough), and Polio were thought to be a thing of the past, but loosening regulations on vaccine requirements will no doubt allow these killers to gain traction in our communities. Even before this week’s announcement, data from Florida’s monthly Vaccine-Preventable Disease Surveillance Report demonstrated climbing rates of vaccine-preventable illnesses like Pertussis, Chicken Pox, and Hepatitis A in that state.
Parents of students seeking exception from vaccine mandates have increasingly utilized religious exemptions as a method of escaping this obligation. In Idaho, these non-medical requests have increased to as much as 15% this year (compare this to the national rate of 3%).
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses agree that timely and comprehensive vaccination with only medically-validated (not religious or philosophical) exceptions should be the norm. This ensures our best odds of keeping vaccine-preventable illness at bay and avoiding endemics, pandemics, and acute health crises that would cause immense misery and loss of life.
Legally, school mandates are dictated by state health departments, though most states follow federal guidelines with regard to vaccines. The scariest part of Florida’s decision to remove school vaccine mandates is that it’s happening against a backdrop of a national neglect for medical-expert-guided health recommendations. The current head of US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is not a physician. With his appointed status, he had the power to dismiss all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June of this year, and fire the head of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this month. The ACIP and CDC are politically neutral coalitions of doctors and public health experts who develop guidelines for vaccine use in our country. Without trusted and experienced medical experts directing these recommendations, we cannot trust their validity.
For doctors like myself, the news about Florida ending vaccine mandates for school children is upsetting. The feeling that this might the first of many announcements is discouraging. The dismantling of the organizations that advise the country on safe vaccination practices feels dystopian. Regardless of the politicization of the issue, this fact has not changed— universal vaccination saves lives.
