Doctors, nurses, and parents from across Florida weighed in Thursday on the state’s proposal to remove vaccine requirements for students.
Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Health announced its proposal to eliminate four vaccine requirements for school entry. Thursday’s public hearing was held at the Orlando Marriott Lake Mary and attracted Floridians from all walks of life, including 7-year-old cancer survivor Evelyn.
“The chemo broke my immune system. I had to stay away from sick people because their germs could hurt me really bad… I missed my friends,” Evelyn said. “Mommy and Daddy knew I would be safe because everybody got their vaccine shots when I couldn't. Please don't change the rules so every kid like me can be safe at schools.”
Evelyn was accompanied by her father, Kyle Huneycutt.
“My child has recovered. I'm incredibly grateful to be able to say that, but I'm asking you to remember the families that can't say that,” said Huneycutt of Maitland.
What’s the state’s vaccine proposal?
Should FDOH proceed with its proposal, it would remove the requirements for shots that prevent chickenpox, hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate, and haemophilus influezae type b (Hib) for students attending schools.
Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo attended Thursday’s hearing, listening to the public comment and to the multiple residents who expressed concern about how ending the mandate may endanger those with compromised immune systems.
Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo during Thursday's public hearing at the Orlando Mariotte Lake Mary hotel, observing public comment on the state's new proposal to remove school entry vaccine mandates.
“We are not insensitive to the fact that people do have illness, and that's a challenge,” Ladapo said. “That cannot supersede the right of a parent to make a decision about what's best for their child.”
His words gave way to loud applause from those in agreement.
Echoing the Surgeon General’s words was Kathleen Murray, the executive director of Citizens Defending Freedom in Duval County. Murray said she’s the mother of a vaccine-injured child, and that vaccinations should not determine a child’s school admission.
“This doesn't mean vaccines shouldn't be recommended. It means parents should be trusted to consider the information provided by medical professionals and make informed decisions for their own children,” she said.
Why now?
Vaccine rates among kindergarteners have fallen well below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 95% threshold recommendation. Florida’s kindergarteners were at 91% fully vaccinated for the 2025-2026 school year, according to the FDOH’s data. That number was 89% in Orange County.
"The parent rights, my rights as a parent, do not exceed the rights of other humans to exist. And this is fundamentally it. No one wants to take away the choice; every parent should decide for their child about vaccines. But what you can't decide is my right to exist," she said.
When asked why the state was considering the removal of these shots now, the department did not state explicitly why, but Dr. Ladapo pointed out that several states do not have at least one of Florida’s four mandated vaccines.
West Virginia is the only state that doesn’t mandate a Hib shot for school entry, according to immunize.org. Alaska, Arizona, California, Oregon, and West Virginia don’t enforce a pneumococcal vaccine. Alabama is the only state that does not have a hepatitis B requirement.
If Florida’s proposal goes into effect, it will be the first state to not have a mandate on chickenpox (varicella) shots.
“In terms of thinking about this with perspective, this is not so different than what happens again in other states in the United States and other countries around the world,” Ladapo said.
What did Florida doctors say?
Some medical professionals disagreed with the state’s course of action. Among them was Dr. Donald Neel, a pediatrician who said he remembers when the four vaccines were not around.
“I spent many hours of my life and parents' lives, holding their hands and praying for their child, who was critically ill with either pneumococcal pneumonia or the various types of meningitis,” Dr. Neel said. “If your goal is to create wellness in the citizens of Florida and the citizens of America, the way to do that is to help us to help parents raise their children in a healthy manner.”
“I'm not here to argue against vaccines,” said Dr. Jessica Peatross, of St. Petersburg. She argued that physicians are not giving parents the necessary information they need regarding vaccines.
“You tell them they're safe and effective every time, and that's it. That's simply not true,” she said.
Vaccine injuries are extremely rare, according to the U.S. Health and Services Administration, but they are reported. However, significant data is lacking.
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) documents reported injuries, but the system has limitations, and “VAERS data alone cannot determine if the vaccine caused the reported adverse event,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy announced a new effort to better investigate vaccine injuries. It would do so by creating a new National Institutes of Health clinic to study patients experiencing problems after receiving a vaccine.
Kennedy also proposed financially reimbursing physicians to file VAERS reports if they suspect vaccine harm.
At Thursday’s public comment session, Dr. Ladapo insisted the proposed rule change was not a commentary on the safety or effectiveness of the vaccines.
“That's not what this is about. This is about the fact that to advance the goals of public health, one of the things is that we need to respect the fact that parental rights are important. They're immutable, and that's been lost,” he said.
Can you still comment on the rule change?
While the Department of Health will not be hosting another public hearing on its proposal, it is still accepting comments via email: vaccinerule@flhealth.gov.
The department will accept comments until 5 p.m. on Oct. 19.
