Florida is aiming to become the first US state to end mandatory vaccinations for children attending public schools, which could lead to outbreaks of diseases never seen before, writes the British broadcaster BBC.
The state’s top health official, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, likened the requirement to slavery when he announced plans to end the vaccination requirement on the 3rd of September. He said that the body is a gift from God and he has no right to dictate what other people’s children should be given.
Florida officials have not said how long the decision could take effect. Some mandatory vaccines require a vote in the Republican-led state legislature to be repealed, while others can be repealed by the state health department. Meanwhile, Ladapo repeatedly boasted during a press conference that he would abolish absolutely all mandatory vaccines, down to the last one.
Ladapo has faced regular criticism from medical and health organizations, who have accused him of spreading misinformation and fake news about vaccines. His immediate superior, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has tried to block mandatory vaccinations against Covid-19.
Democratic Representative Anna Eskamani was among the critics of the new plan, calling the decision to cancel vaccinations foolish and dangerous. She said
it would cause a public health disaster.
While all states require children attending public schools to have received all required vaccines, each state has its own policy on exceptions. Idaho, also a Republican-run state, has already relaxed vaccination requirements this year, but children still need to be immunized.
Florida requires schoolchildren to receive vaccines against a variety of potentially dangerous and even deadly diseases, including polio, chickenpox, hepatitis B and measles.
Vaccines have saved 154 million lives over the past 50 years, according to the World Health Organization. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that childhood vaccinations prevent about 4 million deaths worldwide each year.
A number of Democratic-led states announced on the 3rd of September that they would form an alliance to coordinate health issues, including vaccinations, and oppose health care reforms initiated by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The governors of Washington, Oregon and California have said they will follow the guidelines of state health organizations and not rely on the recommendations of the federal government. Many U.S. health organizations have opposed the Trump administration’s proposed changes to childhood vaccinations. The governors issued a joint press release saying Trump was dismantling the CDC and condemned the decision by well-known anti-vaxxer and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr to remove experts from the CDC’s vaccination board.
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