Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Backed by Gov. DeSantis, Likens Mandates to "Slavery" in Controversial Move

September 3, 2025

TAMPA, Fla. — In a groundbreaking and polarizing announcement, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo declared on Wednesday that the state will move to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including those required for schoolchildren, positioning Florida as the first U.S. state to take such a sweeping step. The decision, made in partnership with Governor Ron DeSantis, has sparked intense debate, with public health experts warning of potential outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles, polio, and hepatitis.

Speaking at a press conference held at Grace Christian School in Valrico, near Tampa, Ladapo condemned vaccine mandates as “wrong and immoral,” equating them to “slavery” and arguing they infringe on personal and parental rights. “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo said to a cheering crowd. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right.”

The move targets all state vaccine requirements, including those for school enrollment, which currently mandate immunizations against diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chickenpox, and hepatitis B. Florida’s Department of Health will immediately begin phasing out non-statutory mandates, while Governor DeSantis noted that remaining mandates embedded in state law will require legislative action. “We’re empowering parents to make decisions for their children,” DeSantis said, emphasizing the state’s commitment to “medical freedom.”

Ladapo, a Harvard-trained physician appointed by DeSantis in 2021, has long been a vocal critic of vaccine mandates and federal public health policies. His past actions, including advising against COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and questioning the safety of mRNA vaccines, have drawn sharp criticism from the medical community. Public health experts expressed alarm at Wednesday’s announcement, citing decades of evidence crediting vaccines with saving millions of lives. A 2024 World Health Organization study estimated that vaccines have saved 154 million lives globally over the past 50 years, with measles vaccines alone accounting for 60% of lives saved among infants.

Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called the decision “frightening,” warning that unvaccinated children could trigger outbreaks of deadly diseases. “The idea that children would be allowed to go to school unvaccinated is absolutely terrifying,” Besser said. Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, added, “This announcement puts children in Florida public schools at higher risk for getting sick, with ripple effects across their communities.”

The announcement aligns with DeSantis’ broader push against public health mandates, a stance that gained him national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, he also unveiled the Florida Make America Healthy Again commission, chaired by First Lady Casey DeSantis, to align state policies with the “medical freedom” initiatives of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The commission will include Ladapo and other state officials and is modeled after Kennedy’s federal efforts, which have raised concerns due to his history of promoting vaccine skepticism.

Critics, including Democratic State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, slammed the decision as “reckless and dangerous.” In a statement, Eskamani warned, “Ending vaccine requirements will drive down immunization rates, trigger outbreaks of preventable diseases, and put children, seniors, and vulnerable Floridians at risk.” CDC data indicates that 4.8% of Florida kindergartners in the 2024-25 school year already used non-medical exemptions to skip required vaccines, a rate that could rise significantly without mandates.

Supporters, however, praised the move as a victory for personal choice. Dr. Robert Malone, a vaccine skeptic recently appointed to the CDC’s advisory committee by Kennedy, wrote on X that he had spoken with Ladapo, calling him “a measured scientist who is on fire to change the system for the better.” The announcement drew raucous applause from attendees at the press conference, held in a private Christian school’s gymnasium, which at times resembled a political rally.

Ladapo offered no specific timeline for the repeal but said the Department of Health would work closely with lawmakers to enact the changes. “I love our lawmakers. They’re going to have to make decisions,” he said. “The moral side is so simple.”

The decision has already prompted reactions beyond Florida’s borders. On the same day, the Democratic governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announced a West Coast Health Alliance to provide unified vaccine recommendations, signaling a potential divide in national health policy. As Florida moves forward, the nation watches closely, with experts warning that the rollback could set a precedent for other states and reshape public health for generations.