Joseph Ladapo

There were speakers for and against keeping mandates during public comment. Doctors say one shot that could become optional prevents Hib, a deadly form of meningitis that is already more common.

The largest slice is a $277.5 million package for cancer research, along with investments in emergency medical innovation and public health infrastructure.

A workshop with pediatricians, parents for and against vaccines, and state health officials will discuss the plan to halt four school-entry mandates now and the repeal of seven others later.

Researchers looked at a group of students and checked how much fluoride they drank from birth through high school. They then compared this to how the students did on math, reading and vocabulary tests.

Florida’s surgeon general, spiritual healers and Trump allies push their cures in a swampy outpost of anti-government absolutism and mystical belief in and just east of Venice.

Measles is the most deadly of all childhood rash illnesses, according to the Florida Department of Health. Two children and an adult died this year in a measles outbreak in Texas.

"Live & Local" explores Florida's plan to end vaccine mandates, a reform school graduation story, Gilbert King's latest book, and catch up on Tampa sports.

Health experts worry the policy change could lower vaccination rates and lead to a rise in preventable diseases — like polio, which most U.S. doctors have little experience spotting or treating.

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.