Florida continues to be at the center of a growing national debate over vaccines, public health and personal freedoms. On April 15 th , the state’s Governor Ron Desantis called for a legislative special session with an agenda consisting of congressional redistricting, potential protections from AI and medical freedom around vaccines.

The push to end vaccine mandates gained momentum last summer when Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, working closely with the governor, announced plans to eliminate all vaccine requirements, including those tied to school attendance and daycare. These mandates have historically required immunizations against diseases such as measles, hepatitis B and polio—illnesses that once caused widespread death and disability before vaccines became routine.

Despite Governor DeSantis pushing for a “medical freedom” bill that would have added personal exemptions to school vaccine requirements, Florida Republicans refused to take up the bill this past month declaring there was no reason to change vaccine requirements.

Here’s how public health could have been affected had the bill passed.

Resurgence Of Preventable Diseases

When vaccine mandates are removed or loosened, fewer parents feel compelled to vaccinate their children, resulting in declining vaccination rates. This threatens herd immunity, or the protection conferred on the general population when a certain percentage of the population gets vaccinated. Once rates fall below a critical threshold, infectious diseases can spread much more rapidly. This means that diseases like polio and whooping cough which can result in serious complications like paralysis and difficulty breathing, respectively, could spread fast despite being largely controlled or eliminated in many regions.

More Frequent And Larger Outbreaks

To understand how vaccination rates can affect outbreaks, one need look no further than the state of Florida itself. Measles, a disease that was declared eliminated back in 2000 by the World Health Organization, has made a resurgence in the state of Florida because of declining vaccination rates. The kindergarten vaccination rate in the state for the MMR vaccine that targets measles was less than 89% in the 2024-2025 academic year according to CDC data , well below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity.

Low vaccination rates for measles has invariably led the state to claim the fourth highest number of measles cases in the nation, with well over 130 cases. Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known, and even small declines in vaccination rates can trigger outbreaks. The virus can cause serious complications that include pneumonia (infection of the lung), encephalitis (swelling of the brain) as well as immune amnesia where parts of the immune system are wiped out leaving the body susceptible to future infections.

Impact On Vulnerable Populations

Schools, hospitals and workplaces rely on vaccine policies to protect vulnerable populations, including infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems who cannot be vaccinated. Without mandates, these groups face increased exposure to preventable diseases and are at higher risk of getting infected and getting sick at the hospital from complications when outbreaks spread. Vaccines do not just save lives and protect individuals, but they protect communities and the vulnerable through herd immunity.

Spillover Effects Beyond Florida

Infectious diseases do not respect boundaries, and lower vaccination rates in one region like Florida can contribute to outbreaks elsewhere, especially with travel and migration. This has already been seen with measles spreading in different bordering states such as Texas and New Mexico last year.

In addition, if Florida was successful in loosening vaccine mandates, it could embolden similar efforts in other states and ultimately reshape national vaccine policy. Some pediatricians have already expressed concern that Florida would become a model for broader rollbacks, potentially leading to declining vaccination rates nationwide.

Although Florida was not successful at rolling back vaccine requirements for children, the national debate regarding vaccines, mandates and personal liberties in controlling what we put in our bodies will continue and remain a polarizing topic.