Gainesville pediatricians say they are concerned about the impact Florida’s plans to remove mandated childhood vaccine requirements may have on school children, saying it could prompt stronger outbreaks for illnesses and affect immunocompromised children who are severely harmed by diseases because of their weakened immune systems.
Last month, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced that the state planned to remove its vaccine mandates, which led to many physicians and medical organizations across the country publicly opposing the decision.
Dr. Catherine Boon, a Gainesville pediatrician, said this could have serious consequences.
The main concern is the spread of infectious disease, and Boon said having high vaccination rates in a community helps mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, which is called herd immunity. She said it protects kids who are immunocompromised and infants who aren’t old enough to receive some vaccines.
If the percentage of herd immunity in a community dips, diseases that have been eliminated — like polio or measles — could reemerge.
“Kids are going to die,” Boon said.
This could also mean uncertainty for medical professionals, since Boon said physicians may struggle to monitor diseases that haven’t been prevalent in decades, so investigating and treating illnesses could be more complicated.
The proposed changes by state administrators would remove mandates for childhood vaccines that are not required for school entry and would come into effect in 90 days, according to an email from the Florida Department of Health. It would remove requirements for hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), haemophilus influenza type B and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
Gainesville pediatricians concerned about diseases spreading
Vaccines have been a point of debate across the country in the last decade, and Gainesville pediatric oncologist Dr. Bill Slayton said he’s found it harder to encourage families to vaccinate their children because of misinformation relating to the risks of vaccines.
Slayton, who specializes in caring for children with leukemia and lymphoma, said he thinks the campaign for medical freedom, which is pushed through policies and efforts that end vaccine mandates, won’t stop unless an outbreak occurs.
“What’s going to happen is that once an outbreak occurs and some kids are harmed, I think that there’s going to be a snap back to reasonable vaccine policies that don’t push this kind of selfish freedom idea on everybody,” Slayton said.
Diseases can be prevented by vaccines, said Dr. Sarah Marsicek, a Gainesville pediatric hospitalist.
She said she has seen patients with vaccine-preventable diseases, including five cases of whooping cough in May, come through the children’s hospital where she works. Immunizations for whooping cough are required under Florida law.
Marsicek was a primary author of an open letter signed by more than 900 Florida physicians calling for the preservation of existing school vaccine requirements, released soon after Ladapo announced Florida’s plans.
“We call on educators, parents, community leaders, and lawmakers to join us in protecting existing vaccine requirements,” the open letter read. “Our responsibility is to today’s children — and to the generations who will follow.”
Local officials respond to Florida’s vaccine plans
Soon after Ladapo’s announcement, UF Health sent a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat saying vaccines are “safe” and “essential.” UF Health declined to comment further on the statement.
“Public health and safety is a shared responsibility,” the UF Health 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.”
Alachua County schools will follow the new school immunization requirements when they take effect in December, said Jackie Johnson, a spokesperson for the school district.
Sarah Rockwell, who chairs the Alachua County school board, said she believes the removal of Florida’s vaccine mandates will have a delayed impact for school-age children, since many children already have most vaccines if they’ve been in school. But she said it would be different for kids in preschools and day cares.
Rockwell also said that some schools in the county are already below what is considered herd immunity in this community due to existing medical and religious exemptions under Florida law.
In 2025, Alachua County’s kindergarten immunization level was 91.9% compared to Florida’s 88.7%, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Alachua County’s seventh grade immunization level was 94% compared to Florida’s 92.1%, the lowest levels in the past 12 years.
Ultimately, the county will have to follow rules from the state’s health department, said county commissioner Marihelen Wheeler. But she said she thinks the county will do everything it can to promote the health of the community by making sure residents are getting the best information possible.
Kristen Mau, the president of the Alachua County Council of PTAs, said this decision by state officials will affect children, staff members and teachers who are immunocompromised.
“The potential for them becoming more severely sick as a result of fewer protections is greater,” Mau said.