Florida is taking measures to abolish mandatory vaccinations for children, as reported by officials.

Florida Announces "Make America Healthy Again" Commission to Promote Individual Freedom in Healthcare

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has announced the creation of a state-level "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) commission, a move aimed at promoting informed consent in medical matters, safe and nutritious food, boosting parental rights, and eliminating unsupported medical orthodoxy.

The commission, which is modeled after a federal initiative, will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis. Its work will help inform a "medical freedom package" to be introduced in the Legislature next session, addressing vaccine mandates required by state law and making permanent the recent state COVID decisions relaxing restrictions.

DeSantis expressed that Florida has led the way in making health-related decisions that prioritize individual freedom. The commission's aim, according to Collins, is to get government out of people's lives. State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo considers current vaccine requirements as an "immoral" intrusion on people's rights and a hindrance to parents' health decisions for their children.

In contrast, Democratic governors of Washington, Oregon, and California have announced the creation of an alliance to safeguard health policies, citing political interference in public health decisions. The partnership aims to coordinate health guidelines and align immunization plans based on recommendations from national medical organizations.

Currently, child day care facilities and public schools in Florida require vaccinations for measles, chickenpox, hepatitis B, DTaP, polio, and other diseases, according to the state Health Department's website. However, under DeSantis' leadership, Florida has resisted imposing COVID vaccines on schoolchildren, avoided requiring "passports" for crowded places, and refrained from mandating school closures and worker vaccination for job retention.

Dr. Ladapo did not specify any particular vaccines but mentioned the effort would end "all of them. Every last one of them." Florida would be the first state to eliminate so many vaccine mandates, a move that Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, running for Orlando mayor, considers "reckless and dangerous" and potentially causing outbreaks of preventable disease.

The MAHA commission will focus on eliminating medical orthodoxy that is not supported by data. DeSantis announced that the upcoming "medical freedom package" would be broad in scope, addressing not only vaccine mandates but also other health-related policies that infringe on individual freedom.