Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee on Tuesday for a special session with a high-stakes question: how far to go in loosening vaccine requirements as state and federal leaders shift away from pandemic-era mandates.
The debate in Florida mirrors a broader shift in federal messaging. A spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services told Bloomberg Government it is working to “restore trust” after Covid-19 pandemic-era mandates, framing efforts like Florida’s as a response to voter demand for transparency.
That
At the center of the fight in Florida is a proposal backed by Gov.
The “Medical Freedom Act” would allow exemptions for religious reasons, as well as personal or conscience-based beliefs, and make those exemptions easier to claim online.
It also adds new consent steps before a child can be vaccinated, allows parents to spread out doses, bars financial incentives tied to vaccine administration, and limits the state’s ability to mandate vaccines during a public health emergency. The measure also would allow pharmacists to sell ivermectin without a prescription.
Yarborough said in an email the bill is aimed at giving parents more flexibility under current law.
“The issue that needs to be addressed in current law is that parents who would like to opt their children out if a religious or medical reason is not present have no avenue through which they may do so,” he said. “Adding the conscience exemption affords non-religious parents the opportunity to opt their children out.”
DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo—who
That effort has since narrowed into the current bill, even as doctors warn it could drive up cases of preventable illnesses such as measles and whooping cough.
DeSantis championed similar policies during the pandemic, when Florida Republicans expanded vaccine exemptions and pushed back on federal mandates, testing how far lawmakers are willing to go as vaccination rates slip.
Health Fallout
Florida is already below the vaccination levels typically needed to prevent outbreaks. Data from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health show 145 measles cases in the state so far this year, up from just seven in 2025. Nationally, Florida ranks among the states with the highest number of confirmed cases this year.
For measles, about 95% vaccination coverage is needed to maintain herd immunity.
Kas Miller, director of Florida Families for Vaccines, said the state is falling short.
“Expanding exemptions moves us further from where we need to be,” she said.
Doctors, meanwhile, say the effects may not be immediate—but they are predictable.
“All the key pathogens will drop below herd immunity levels,” said Frederick Southwick, an infectious disease specialist in Gainesville. “We will return to a pre-vaccination level of infection.”
Southwick, who has been outspoken against the proposal, was more blunt about the potential consequences. “They’re just trying to kill kids.”
He warned the shift could strain pediatric systems and expose infants and immunocompromised people to preventable illnesses.
Jennifer Takagishi, vice president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the effects are already showing up in schools.
“We’re seeing lower vaccination rates in our incoming kindergarteners,” she said, adding that expanding exemptions “will certainly bring them down even more.”
“It doesn’t just affect their own family,” she said. “It can affect a large number of people around them.”
Political Stakes
Vaccine politics are more complicated than they were in 2020. Polling from McLaughlin & Associates—a firm aligned with President Donald Trump—shows broad support for maintaining existing school vaccine requirements. Nearly eight in 10 Florida voters favor keeping current rules, including about 70% of Trump voters.
Moreover, roughly two-thirds said they would be less likely to support a lawmaker who votes to weaken those requirements, putting the issue in play ahead of the midterms.
Not all Republicans are on board with expanding exemptions. Sen.
“Florida already has a good system which allows families to opt out based on their religious and personal beliefs,” he said. “That balances our children’s health and parents’ rights.”
That tension is also inside the statehouse, raising questions about whether the bill has the support to pass the House.
House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) hasn’t committed to taking up the Senate-backed measure. In response to an inquiry, his office pointed to a statement he made in late April.
“In the middle of a measles outbreak, it’s tough for me to all of a sudden allow for children in schools to not have the measles vaccine, to not have polio [vaccines], to not have chicken pox [vaccines],” Perez told Florida Politics.
The hesitation marks a shift from earlier in DeSantis’ tenure, when Republican lawmakers broadly backed efforts to expand vaccine exemptions during the pandemic.
Yarborough said he expects the House to take up the measure, calling it “a necessary step” to protect parents’ rights.
The proposal tests whether DeSantis can notch another policy win tied to his pandemic-era approach—an issue that helped fuel his 2022 reelection—but now faces a more skeptical legislature and shifting public mood.
“When we weaken vaccine requirements, we don’t just affect today’s children—we erode public health capacity,” Miller said.
With the special session compressed into just a few days, the outcome may hinge on political calculus as much as public health—an early signal of how vaccine policy could factor into the midterms.
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