Florida says proposed rollback of some school vaccine mandates won’t take effect for about 90 days

Florida’s plan to make select school vaccine requirements voluntary will not take effect immediately, the state health department said Sunday, and would cover only a limited group of illnesses unless lawmakers expand the change.

The department said it initiated a rule change on Sept. 3, 2025, and “anticipates the rule change will not be effective for approximately 90 days,” according to an email to The Associated Press. The announcement came four days after Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said the state would become the first to allow families to decide whether to vaccinate their children for school attendance.

Under the change the department described, mandates on vaccines for hepatitis B, chickenpox, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal diseases would be lifted for school entry unless state lawmakers take steps to include additional diseases. All other vaccinations required by Florida law to attend school — including those for measles, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, mumps and tetanus — would remain in place “unless updated through legislation,” the department said.

Florida already allows a religious exemption to vaccine requirements. Lawmakers do not reconvene for the regular legislative session until January 2026, although committee meetings are scheduled to begin in October, giving the Legislature the opportunity to alter the scope of any permanent changes.

Ladapo, speaking Sunday on CNN, framed the move as one of parental choice. “If you want them, God bless, you can have as many as you want,” he said. “And if you don’t want them, parents should have the ability and the power to decide what goes into their children’s bodies. It’s that simple.” The announcement represents a shift from decades of public health policy that has regarded vaccination as the most effective means to prevent spread of communicable disease among children.

The department’s clarification addressed questions that emerged after Ladapo’s earlier remarks. The email to The Associated Press did not set an exact effective date but indicated a roughly three-month period before any rule change would take effect, a timeline that comes after the public school year in Florida began in August.

Public health officials and medical organizations warned of potential risks. Dr. Rana Alissa, chair of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said making vaccines voluntary would increase risk to students and school staff. Nationally, public health data show rising activity of several preventable diseases: the United States is experiencing its worst year for measles in more than three decades, with more than 1,400 confirmed cases and three deaths reported, most concentrated in Texas. Whooping cough has been spreading, and preliminary Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data cited by public health officials showed more than 19,000 pertussis cases as of Aug. 23, about 2,000 more than the same time last year; infants and young children are particularly vulnerable.

The World Health Organization estimated in 2024 that vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives globally over the previous 50 years, the majority among infants and children.

The move in Florida has also drawn attention amid broader national debate over vaccines. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voiced deep skepticism about vaccines, a position that has amplified controversy around changes to vaccination policy.

State officials said the initial rulemaking would not automatically encompass diseases such as polio and measles unless the Legislature or further administrative action expands the list. The department did not provide details Sunday on whether it would pursue subsequent rule changes covering additional diseases or how it would address potential public health consequences if vaccination rates decline.

The department’s statement did not address legal or logistical steps for schools to adjust enrollment processes or for health departments to monitor vaccination coverage during the interim. Public health watchdogs and pediatricians have said they will watch immunization rates closely if any mandates are weakened, citing evidence that widespread vaccination has played a central role in controlling outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

As the rule change proceeds through the administrative timeline, state lawmakers and health officials in Florida face competing pressures: some advocates for parental choice seek fewer mandates, while public health experts point to historical and global data on vaccines’ role in preventing illness and death among children.

The department said it would provide additional updates as the rulemaking process advances and as any legislative activity occurs during the fall committee cycle or the 2026 legislative session.