TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida could soon become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates, including those required for school.

What You Need To Know

The Florida Department of Health held its first public workshop focused on repealing all vaccine mandates in the state

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo are pushing to end all vaccine mandates in state law, though legislative approval is required

Health experts warn the movement could deepen vaccine distrust, as Florida’s kindergarten vaccination rate (88%) already trails the national average (93%)

Marking the state’s first action toward a mandate repeal, the Florida Department of Health held its first public vaccine workshop Friday.

“This is about freedom,” said Larry Downs Jr., a Florida resident. “The default setting should be freedom, not these corporate chemical vaccine injections.”

Representatives from the Department of Health heard roughly three hours of public comment at the Panama City Beach meeting.

“I feel very sad to hear the distrust of physicians in the medical community,” said Dr. Frederick Southwick, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Florida. “We only have our patients’ welfare in mind.”

The effort comes at the call of state leaders — especially DeSantis and Ladapo.

“The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law,” said Ladapo in September. “All of them. All of them. Every last one of them.”

However, to ban all mandates, Florida lawmakers must pass legislation through the state Senate and House.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kindergarten vaccination rates are on the decline in Florida, hovering at around 88% — compared to the national average of 93%.

Some in the medical community are growing increasingly concerned about the increasing anti-vaccine sentiment.

“Now it’s ending vaccine mandates,” said Dr. Rana Alissa, of the American Academy of Pediatric’s Florida chapter. “Tomorrow insurance won’t pay for the vaccines. The day after tomorrow clinics cannot have the vaccines. So this is this is just the beginning.”

Under the current framework, there are essentially two main ways to get a vaccine exemption in Florida — people can either get a religious exemption, or a letter from a doctor saying the vaccine isn’t in the patient’s best medical interest.