By Mark Swanson    |   Wednesday, 03 September 2025 01:08 PM EDT

The Florida surgeon general on Wednesday announced that the state is ending all vaccine mandates, “every last one of them.”

Joseph Ladapo’s announcement came in conjunction with the establishment of the Florida Make America Healthy Again commission, which will be chaired by Florida first lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins.

At the press conference in the Tampa suburb of Valrico, Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the commission will focus on tenets that include “individual medical freedom, informed consent, parent rights and also market innovation.”

That includes scrapping immunization requirements, including hepatitis B, polio, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and chickenpox, for all Florida schools.

“Every last one is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery. 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 your God,” Ladapo said. “Government does not have that right.”

Ladapo, who did not provide a timeline as to when vaccine mandates would be scrapped, will also be on the Florida MAHA commission.

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

Mark Swanson 

Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.