Whoopi Goldberg decries Florida plan to end school vaccine mandates as 'playing Russian roulette' with children
Discussion on ABC's The View follows Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's announcement to ban school vaccine requirements, drawing rebukes from co-hosts and renewed debate over public health protections
Whoopi Goldberg accused Florida officials on Monday of “playing Russian roulette with the lives of children” after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced plans to ban vaccine mandates for schoolchildren, a move that would cover vaccines for illnesses such as measles and polio.
Ladapo has called school vaccine mandates "wrong" and drew sharp criticism after comparing them to slavery, a remark that drew rebuke from The View co-host Ana Navarro during the show's first Hot Topics segment after returning for its 29th season. "Why does he have to make that comparison to slavery? This is a man who was born in Nigeria, where millions and millions of people were brought across the Atlantic and shackled and taken into slavery," Navarro said on air.
Goldberg, who resumed her role as moderator Monday, framed the issue in terms of potential risks to children and other vulnerable populations. "Any time you go to a school, who knows what’s in there? They sneeze, everybody gets sick," she said, adding that removing mandates could put both students and older family members at greater risk. "You’re basically saying, ‘Let’s see what happens if your kid goes to school with other kids and your grandparents, who are elderly, are in with your grandkids.' You’re saying y’all don’t care. So, what do we do?"
The comments came as prominent figures including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have voiced support for limiting mandates, while former President Donald Trump said ending school vaccine requirements is a "very tough position" to take and urged caution in rolling back mandates for vaccines he described as "so amazing," according to remarks reported by The Hill.
Public health experts have long cited school-entry vaccine requirements as a tool to maintain high vaccination coverage and limit outbreaks of preventable diseases. Measles and polio previously caused widespread illness and death before vaccines became routine; measles outbreaks have re-emerged in pockets of under-vaccinated communities in recent years, and poliovirus surveillance remains a focus for health authorities.
Ladapo's proposal does not yet change state law; altering school vaccine requirements would involve administrative and potentially legislative steps. The announcement intensified a debate over the balance between individual choice and community protection that has played out nationally since the development of modern vaccine policies.
On television and social media, The View hosts debated both the ethical dimensions and practical consequences of the proposal, reflecting broader national discussion. The program's segment included direct criticism of Ladapo's slavery comparison and questions about the public health rationale for ending mandates that many states have used to reduce transmission of contagious diseases.
The View returned to ABC for its 29th season Monday. The program airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Central on ABC.