Today, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced that the Florida Department of Health is beginning the process to eliminate all vaccine mandates in the state. The announcement came at a press conference where Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had also announced the creation of the state’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. The Commission will be focused on prioritizing health, restoring trust in the medical profession, and protecting medical freedom, such as removing mandated immunization requirements.

“The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law,” Dr. Ladapo stated at the press conference. “All of them.”

Dr. Ladapo noted that the state health department would begin by first starting the process to strike down rules established by his predecessors that mandated vaccines, and then it would work with Gov. DeSantis and the state’s lawmakers to eliminate the rest of the mandates.

“Every last one is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” stated Dr. Ladapo. “Who am I, or anyone else, to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and God.”

The Florida surgeon general emphasized that government officials have no right to force vaccines upon anyone and noted the state legislature will have to make future decisions about returning autonomy back to the people so they can make their own informed decisions. The DeSantis administration had previously criticized the COVID-19 shots as dangerous and ineffective and continues recommending against the shots for all age groups. In November 2024, a Florida statewide grand jury concluded COVID-19 shot manufacturers allegedly engaged in widespread deceptive practices to hide deaths and serious side effects from the shots.

Gov. DeSantis stated that Florida’s new MAHA Commission will be a working group to recommend state-level integration of President Donald Trump’s Make America Healthy Again principles. The national MAHA initiative is led by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which aims “to reform America’s food, health, and scientific systems to identify the root causes of the chronic disease epidemic.”

DeSantis said Florida’s MAHA Commission will focus on principles including “individual medical freedom, informed consent, parent rights, and also market innovation.”

Gov. DeSantis stated the commission’s plan involves “promoting clean, safe and nutritious food, improving transparency and accountability in health care, working on the causes of chronic diseases to identify and prevent future occurrences, and restoring trust in the medical profession and in public health.”

Florida’s MAHA Commission will ultimately “empower Floridians, reduce regulatory burdens and hold actors accountable for their conduct, while fostering incentives for healthy living and innovation,” stated Gov. DeSantis.

The MAHA Commission will be chaired by First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. Among the commission’s members will be Dr. Ladapo, Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Shevaun Harris, Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch, among other medical experts. 

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “People should have the freedom to make the informed choice of what to put in their own bodies. More states should follow the courage of Florida officials by returning medical freedom and informed decision-making back to the people. Florida will continue to lead in protecting people’s freedom to choose how they manage their health.”