Across the country, public school districts require children to be fully immunized against polio, measles, hepatitis B, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (among other things) before they can attend classes. These policies have existed for years; they have been incredibly effective; they have long enjoyed the support of public health officials; and they haven’t been especially controversial.
Indeed, until recently, assorted partisans didn’t think to make much of a fuss about it: These policies reflected the scientific consensus. The political debate, for all intents and purposes, didn’t exist. As The New York Times explained in 2021, vaccination mandates “are an American tradition,” with roots that predate the United States itself.
But after the Covid-19 crisis — a pandemic that ended thanks to the rapid development and distribution of a safe and effective vaccine — things changed. A great many Republicans decided to take aim, not just at the lifesaving Covid vaccine, but at all vaccines.
The Washington Post published a memorable analysis in 2022 that noted, “For months, we’ve written in this space about how the Republicans’ pushback against coronavirus vaccine mandates could foment — and apparently has been fomenting — opposition to mandates of other vaccines, including for schoolchildren.”
With this in mind, the latest news out of Florida is awful, but it’s not altogether surprising. NOTUS reported:
Florida is set to roll back four vaccine requirements for children attending the state’s public schools, according to a new rule published Monday by the state Department of Health. The proposed guidelines come after Florida’s surgeon general launched an effort last fall to eliminate all vaccine mandates for school children.
The rule would allow Florida children to attend school without receiving immunizations for chickenpox, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B and pneumococcal disease. The Department of Health purports that the proposed rule eliminates vaccine mandates for shots that aren’t required under state law.
If this sounds familiar, it’s not your imagination. A year ago next week, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced that he and other state officials were trying to eliminate all vaccine mandates.
“All of them. All of them,” he said at a press conference. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”
Ladapo, for those unfamiliar with his background, is one of the most radical and controversial state-based public health officials in recent memory. He was appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who famously and falsely claimed that Covid boosters increased the odds of getting Covid.
With DeSantis’ tenure nearing its end, it might be tempting to think conditions will improve in the Sunshine State, but the odds aren’t great. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican candidate well positioned to succeed the incumbent governor, was reminded over the weekend that Florida is below the 95% immunization rate for herd immunity for measles. Asked if he would urge parents in the state to get their kids vaccinated, the far-right congressman replied, “No. Actually, my message to Floridians and, quite frankly, to Americans is, the reason why we have seen a measles outbreak in certain parts of the country is because of rampant illegal immigration into the United States from the previous administration.”
There might be some who see this and make unfortunate assumptions. “This is a tragic step backwards for Floridian families and their public health system, but I don’t live anywhere near the state, so maybe this should be seen as more of a local problem,” some might say.
But that perspective is mistaken. If Florida successfully rolls back the clock on vaccines and public schools, not only will children suffer from preventable diseases, but Floridians will start exporting contagions and ailments to other Americans — and in all likelihood, to other countries.
In 2021, Vox’s Benjy Sarlin noted that it seemed likely the United States would “end up with fewer vaccine requirements in some places than we started with before the pandemic” that killed millions of people around the world.
That might have sounded ridiculous, but five years later, it’s an unsettling assessment that’s holding up well.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
The post Florida moves forward with plan to roll back vaccine requirements in public schools appeared first on MS NOW.
