With a 3-year-old about to enter Leon County schools, Christen Wooland isn’t panicked by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to end child vaccination mandates, but some local leaders say the move could put classrooms at risk.
“I don’t have any concerns about it because I know she will always be vaccinated,” Wooland told the Tallahassee Democrat. (Vaccination doesn’t guarantee one won’t get sick, but it greatly reduces a person’s risk and makes any illness much milder if it does happen.)
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced Sept. 3 that the Department of Health and the Legislature would work together to repeal vaccine mandates.
The governor’s push to end vaccination mandates could reshape how schools and families manage children’s health, as the efforts come with an emphasis on parental choice.
The announcement comes as current law mandates public schools collect vaccine records and ensure students are up to date before enrollment. Exemptions to the law are for religious and medical reasons.
Students are required to receive vaccinations for polio, tetanus, measles, hepatitis B, chickenpox and more ahead of registering for kindergarten, seventh grade and at most childcare centers in the state.
Leon County School Board member Rosanne Wood said the proposal horrifies her, warning that infections can quickly move through a community unless 95% of the population is vaccinated.
“I’m very worried of the implications of children coming unvaccinated to school. It feels like we’re going back 50 years,” Wood told the Tallahassee Democrat. “I think we should listen to our doctors. I am hopeful that our legislators will not undo years of requirements of vaccinations which have kept our children healthy.”
School board chair Laurie Lawson Cox has been out of the country and unavailable for comment.
The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said erasure of the vaccination mandates would actually limit families, not free them.
“The ripple effect of removing vaccine entry requirements would affect all of us, not just those with children in school,” FCAAP President Rana Alissa, MD said. “Infants, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems would be at much higher risk. Our state’s theme parks, grocery stores, movie theaters, sports arenas, and the waiting rooms in doctor’s offices and hospitals will all become places for contagious disease to spread easily – making every outing or gathering a risk.”
According to state health department data, 93.8% of Leon County kindergartners and 96.1% of seventh graders were vaccinated this year, compared to statewide rates of 88.7% and 92.1%, respectively.
How the school district will respond remains unclear, with officials saying decisions will depend on what the legislature ultimately passes.
LCS spokesperson Chris Petley said the district’s health services team won’t speak prematurely on the state’s efforts.
And the school board has not discussed a plan of action regarding the anti-immunization efforts.
As Wood put it, “I would hope that we (on the school board) could educate parents on the benefits of vaccinations. In my humble opinion, it’s a very bad idea to stop requiring vaccinations.”