The cynic in me is saying that the state of Florida has found another way to wipe out public schools. If ignored and tolerated, by parents in particular, this insidious approach will make state and federal funding cuts and the diversion of public funds to private education almost benign. At their very worst,budget cuts and school vouchers aren't fatal.
The same can't be said for the Florida Department of Health's latest efforts to remove Hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, a move that has been quietly underway for about a year since Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state's Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced their intentions of turning public schools into petri dishes of classroom
illness by ridding the state of its vaccine mandates.
Florida's childhood vaccination rates for kindergartners is at 88%, well below the 95% threshold of herd immunity that prevents communicable diseases from spreading. But, that doesn't seem to be a high priority of the department.
"Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Lapado said last September. "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."
Well, some might say you're a doctor as a response to the Who-am-I question. Others might talk up "wisdom" and "discernment" as other gifts from God to go along with the "body" reference ― but I digress. Right now the health department has a proposal on the table for public review. This should be an easy call; the public should oppose it.
Medical freedom isn't seen as good Rx for schoolchildren
Right now, Florida requires children entering daycare and K-12 schools to be immunized against major communicable diseases, including diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, polio and tetanus. The state allows for religious exemptions "if immunizations are in conflict with the religious tenets and practices of the child's parent and guardian."
What the department now wants will further make it easier for your child to bring home an illness. The new rule would remove the four aforementioned vaccines and expand the religious exemption to include "moral and ethical beliefs." If enacted, Florida will be one of the few states in the country where it will be ethical to be a vaccine denier.
I'm not sure if the public is on board with that.
In fact, the public has already shown its support for school vaccines through a most unlikely source ― the Florida Legislature. They did so by doing absolutely nothing.
In response to calls from DeSantis, Ladapo and others to rollback the vaccine requirements, state lawmakers refused to file any bills that would change state law to remove the requirements. Efforts to expand exemptions and mandate doctors to offer alternate vaccine schedules made it through the Florida Senate but went nowhere in the Florida House.
Besides allowing parents to opt their kids out of vaccines, The Medical Freedom Act forced physicians, paramedics and other healthcare providers to provide educational material and get signatures from parents before vaccinating children. It also sought to limit state mandates for emergency vaccinations, and allowed pharmacists to dispense ivermectin over-the-counter without a prescription, while providing liability protections for pharmacists.
Despite the push, the bill failed to get out of the legislature. It's almost like the lawmakers knew better.
Ladapo apparently didn't get the memo. Lacking the power of state law, he's hoping a bureaucratic rule will do what lawmakers wouldn't and many parents in Florida simply won't tolerate. The window for public comments is open ― but only for a short period of time. Response forms can be found at the Florida Department of State's Administrative Code, Register and Laws Section, and at the moment, the department hasn't scheduled public hearings on the matter.
Call me cynical, but I believe the fix is in.
Douglas C. Lyons is an editorial writer and columnist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at dclyons@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Vaccine rollback threatens Florida's public schools | Opinion
