Florida's Minister of Public Health Joseph Ladapo announced this Wednesday that his state will become the first jurisdiction in the United States to end mandatory vaccination in schools.
"Florida's Department of Health, in coordination with the government, is working to end vaccine mandates that are written into state law. Absolutely all of them," Ladapo said at a press conference.
"All mandates are wrong and overflow with disdain and slavery. Who am I, as a government, or as any other person, to tell anyone what you must put into your body?" the minister reflected.
Joseph Ladapo. | La Derecha Diario
The measure could mean a monumental change in the health policy of the states.
For Florida's health official, neither he nor any of the people in government have the right to make decisions for others, stating that each person's body "is a gift from God" and that "what each person puts into their body is a relationship between your body and your God."
In this regard, Florida has become one of the states that most promotes individual freedom in health matters. In 2022, when Biden's administration was making authoritarian decisions under the excuse of the pandemic, current governor Ron DeSantis enacted a series of measures that prohibited the mandatory use of masks and vaccines in public and indoor spaces.
Currently, vaccination for minors attending daycare centers and schools is mandatory in Florida, a measure that is replicated in almost every state in the country. Territories dominated by Democrats have tightened this policy in recent years, rejecting religious exemptions for families who wish to exclude their children from inoculation.
President Trump, while recognizing the success of his mass vaccination campaign of the population in 2020, has shown skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines, having asked major laboratories this week to prove with data the real effectiveness of their product.
Florida announced it will end mandatory vaccination in schools | La Derecha Diario