Health professionals urge Florida to reconsider repealing vaccine requirements for school children

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo with Gov. Ron DeSantis Credit: Photo via NSF The Florida Department of Health heard hours of public comment from parents’ rights advocates and health care professionals on Thursday about the agency’s move to repeal four vaccines required to enroll in state schools. The hearing, held Thursday morning in Lake Mary, saw activists praise DOH for the proposal, while doctors and other health care professionals heavily criticized the move, which has been in the works for more than a year. DOH wants to remove the immunization requirements for Hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate to attend Florida schools. The requirements are an agency rule, not in state law, and can be repealed by the agency itself. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said the decision would improve parents’ rights in Florida, which would then benefit the overall health of the state. “A public health system where pare