Joseph Ladapo

As lawmakers prepare legislation to roll back mandates, the surgeon general has floated going one step further: banning mRNA vaccines. Medical experts say that would have public health implications.

The Board of Pharmacy cited a state law that allows pharmacists to administer FDA-approved vaccines. Publix and Walgreens said they would be offering the shot without a prescription to eligible recipients.

Even as some policymakers challenge mandates, public opinion largely favors requirements for at least one vaccine to protect children and the broader community.

Dr. Scott Rivkees, a pediatrician who served as surgeon general from 2019 to 2021 during the COVID pandemic, says the state is going backward when it comes to childhood vaccines.

Speaking with a Houston physician, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo says he doesn't want mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the state.

At a gathering organized by the UF chapter of the Students for a National Health Program, about 50 people demonstrated against making vaccines voluntary for schoolchildren.

The rule changes could take effect by early December, according to the state Department of Health.

The city's chief health officer and the president of the Duval County Medical Society have issued written rebukes of the state's plan to phase out the requirements.

Doctors, medical experts and politicians on both sides of the aisle are pushing back on a plan from Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo to end the mandates.

On "The Florida Roundup," the president of the American College of Physicians said he believes the state not mandating vaccines for children will increase costs for health care.

It would include only chickenpox and a few others unless lawmakers decide to extend it to other diseases.

Surveys indicate that for the relatively small but influential group of Americans who oppose childhood vaccines, concerns about personal freedom and government influence are prominent.