SB 1756<\/a>), sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, includes creating an exemption to vaccination requirements for parents who say the shots conflict with their \u201cconscience.\u201d It would add to an already-existing exemption for parents who cite conflicts with religious beliefs.<\/p>\n\u201cThe main thrust of this bill is that parents be in charge of the decisions of their children\u2019s health care,\u201d Yarborough said, adding it was similar to other moves by the state in recent years to expand parental rights in areas such as health care and education.<\/p>\n
[WATCH: Doctors fear \u2018ripple effect\u2019 of ending vaccine mandates in Florida]<\/p>\n
But opponents, including physician groups, warned that creating another exemption could lead to the spread of diseases that would harm children and affect other people, such as cancer patients, who have compromised immune systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are about to go down a road that\u2019s going to create a major problem for children, but also for seniors and those who cannot be vaccinated,\u201d Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said. \u201cI had a conversation with my primary-care doctor I\u2019ve had (as) a good friend for many, many years, and she said, \u2018Gayle, I don\u2019t want to go back to medical school to learn how to treat polio.\u2019 And that\u2019s where we are going.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Senate Health Policy Committee voted 6-4 to approve the bill, which comes amid widespread debates in Florida and nationally about vaccines. Part of that debate has been fueled by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, with physicians and health groups pushing back.<\/p>\n
[WATCH: CDC advisers to weigh major change to childhood vaccines]<\/p>\n
Yarborough\u2019s bill also would make other changes, including requiring that health-care providers give information to parents \u201con the risks, benefits, safety and efficacy of each vaccine being administered\u201d before children get shots. The health-care providers would use materials developed by the Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine.<\/p>\n
In addition, the bill would allow the sale of the drug ivermectin without prescriptions. Ivermectin, which is designed to treat parasitic conditions, drew heavy attention \u2014 and controversy \u2014 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some people contending it helped treat the virus. Under the bill, ivermectin would be treated as what is known as a \u201cbehind-the-counter\u201d medication that pharmacists could provide without prescriptions.<\/p>\n
State law requires children entering school to be vaccinated against polio, measles, mumps and rubella and diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is frequently called \u201cMMR,\u201d while the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine is frequently called \u201cDTaP.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the requirements in law, the Florida Department of Health has vaccination requirements for hepatitis B; varicella, commonly known as chickenpox; Haemophilus influenza type b, or Hib, which can cause meningitis; and pneumococcal conjugate, which can cause pneumonia and meningitis.<\/p>\n
But with state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, a vaccine critic, the Department of Health in December held a workshop about eliminating those four vaccination requirements. A Senate staff analysis said the department has not formally published a rule to move forward with the elimination.<\/p>\n
Yarborough\u2019s bill, which is titled \u201cMedical Freedom,\u201d would need approval from two more committees before it could go to the full Senate. Rep. Jeff Holcomb, R-Spring Hill, has filed a similar bill (HB 917<\/a>) in the House.<\/p>\nBreaking News Alerts<\/p>\n
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