The US state of Florida is planning to drop all vaccination requirements, including routine childhood shots for measles, diphtheria, and other life-threatening illnesses.
Florida’s surgeon general said “all vaccine mandates” would end because “every last one drips… with disdain and slavery.” It would make Florida the only US state to lack vaccine requirements for school attendance. The country’s leadership is increasingly vaccine-skeptical: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has repeatedly voiced concerns about the impacts of immunizations.
Yet there is a growing divide between states on the issue, with California, Oregon, and Washington — all solidly Democratic — announcing a “health alliance” that would make vaccine recommendations separately from federal agencies, while some Northeastern states are considering a similar effort.
