University of Florida medical students gathered on Friday to protest Florida's plan to remove vaccine mandates in schools, aligning with criticism by public health experts that this decision could lead to a reemergence of certain diseases and place a burden on health care systems.
At a protest organized by the UF chapter of the Students for a National Health Program, about 50 people rallied against the state's plan to make vaccines voluntary for schoolchidren.
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Gautham Amaravadi, who attended the demonstration held across from UF's College of Medicine, said repealing vaccine mandates is "a step in the wrong direction." He also said he believes it will place a burden on the state's health care system, which has come under financial scrutiny by the Trump administration.
"Vaccines are generally incredibly low risk for the benefit they provide, especially [for] children who are so susceptible to many communicable, devastating diseases," said Amaravadi, a 23-year-old UF student.
The protest comes after Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on Sept. 3 announced in a news conference that Florida will work to end vaccine mandates for children and adults.
Students for a National Health Program is affiliated with Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates for single-payer health care in the country.
Ladapo, a professor at UF, has been a longtime critic of vaccines, especially mRNA shots that were first authorized for use against COVID-19 in 2020. Shirsika Kummeta, a medical student and co-president of the group who organized the protest, said part of the reason for the rally was to demand UF's condemnation of its own professor's actions.
"People know that he is a UF physician, so it seems like UF is co-signing all of the things that he's saying," Kummeta said.
UF spokesperson Steve Orlando wrote in an email that the university has no comment on the protest or whether it plans to change its immunization requirements. However, UF Health — Ladapo's employer — said in a statement to the USA Today Network - Florida that vaccines were "safe" and essential."
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"Public health and safety is a shared responsibility," UF Health's statement read. "The overwhelming consensus of the medical and public health communities show that vaccines are among the most studied and scrutinized medical interventions in history."
The Florida Department of Health announced the plan to lift mandates would not take effect for 90 days and can only cover school vaccines for some diseases such as chicken pox and hepatitis B. Others would require legislative change.
Protestors stood across the street from UF Health Shands Children's Hospital, where they chanted, "Say it loud, say it clear, vaccines are not to fear." They waved signs, including some that read "Vaccines Save Lives" and "Don't Hate, Vaccinate."
Alachua County Commissioner Mary Alford, who attended the protest, said she hopes the county continues to educate people about the importance of vaccines while ensuring residents can keep accessing them.
"Vaccines work when the majority of people are vaccinated. You need about 95% of the population vaccinated to protect everybody. If you drop below that, you're getting dangerously low," said Dr. Leo Alonso, a retired emergency medicine physician who has worked in multiple Jacksonville hospitals.
Alonso is on the board for the Florida chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. He said he was appalled when he heard about Florida's plan.
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"Any public health person knows that vaccines save millions of lives around the world," he said.
Gita Lakshminarayanan, a 29-year-old UF graduate and doctoral student, is the co-chair of the student organization.
Lakshminarayanan said she expects other state universities with chapters to organize protests against the mandate removals.
"Words have an actual impact," Lakshminarayanan said. "If our surgeon general can use his words to harm people, then I can use my words to help them."
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