Florida just made history—Florida Surgeon General Ladapo announced no more vaccine mandates for kids or adults. After COVID, trust in the medical establishment collapsed—and when trust is gone, mandates don’t survive.
Note: The change must be approved by the Florida legislature.
Florida could now be the first state in the nation to outlaw vaccine mandates for children and adults. Additionally, Governor DeSantis announced that there will be an MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) Commission for Florida. What once would have been unimaginable has become inevitable. Americans simply don’t trust the medical establishment anymore.
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Surgeon General Ladapo framed the removal of vaccine mandates as a parental rights issue and compared mandates to slavery. As reported by the Daily Mail, he said he would be working with the Department of Health and Governor Ron DeSantis to end all mandates in the state.
Who am I to tell you what vaccinations your child should put in your body? Every last one (vaccine) of them is wrong, should be discarded, and drips with disdain and slavery. ~Florida Surgeon General Ladapo
When COVID hit, we were told the shot was a “vaccine” that would stop the virus cold—just like polio or measles vaccines eliminated those diseases. But within months, the truth quietly seeped out: you could still catch COVID even if you were “fully vaccinated.” What was sold as protection was something closer to a flu shot, meant to ease symptoms rather than prevent infections. Then came the boosters. You were expected to get one every six months for the rest of your life. That wasn’t what people signed up for.
As reported by The Hill, President Trump expressed reservations about vaccine removal, calling it a “very tough position.
I think we have to be very careful. You have some vaccines that are so amazing. He went on to cite the polio vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine, which were developed during his first term. ~Presdident Trump
🚨BREAKING: President Trump slams Florida’s move to remove all vaccine mandates, including for schoolchildren, insisting some vaccines are essential.
uhhhh… yikes.pic.twitter.com/jIGpHAZyFH
— Jack (@jackunheard) September 5, 2025
So how did we get here? Doctors who dared to speak up and show healthy skepticism for the COVID-19 vaccine were punished for speaking out, right in the heart of the pandemic when the vaccine was readily available. One of them was Dr. Joel Rudman from Florida’s Panhandle. The “jab” was available, and many were getting COVID anyway. Additionally, one or two shots weren’t enough, and people were told they would need “boosters” twice a year. When Rudman voiced his doubts online, the American Board of Family Medicine called him to say he was being investigated. The message couldn’t have been clearer—keep your opinions to yourself or risk losing your license, practice, and livelihood. You would be canceled.
Growing up, there were always two professions you could trust: your priest and your doctor. The government has done everything it can to undermine that trust in physicians, thanks to its handling of the whole COVID-19 debacle.
~Dr. Joel Rudman, former Florida State Representative
Instead of backing down, Rudman ran for office. Once elected as a state representative, he filed legislation making it illegal for Florida licensing boards to silence doctors for sharing personal opinions about COVID or anything else. Governor DeSantis signed it into law in 2023. In Florida, free speech now applies to medicine, too.
Hundreds of Florida doctors were speaking out against COVID, but our certifying boards threatened us with the cancellation of our livelihoods. My law made that illegal. We combined my freedom of speech and language with an old bill called the Medical Conscience, which says you can’t force a doctor to do something against their conscience. It was that combo that became law. So, depending on your point of view, many people call the medical conscience law the sixth of its kind in the nation. The most important part of the language is the freedom of speech that prohibits doctors from being silenced. We are the first state in the country to have that sort of statute.~Dr. Joel Rudman, former Florida state representative
But the fallout from the COVID years has stuck. Many patients are asking the same uncomfortable question: if I was advised to take a vaccine that wasn’t what I was told, was my doctor lying to me, or just too afraid to speak openly? That kind of doubt spreads quickly; once faith in medical advice is gone, it’s almost impossible to rebuild.
Polio and measles may feel like ancient history, and many are questioning what may happen, but vaccines such as these and shots like tetanus will remain available. Ultimately, the legislature must decide if it wants to do this. If so, the governor can sign it into law, and the choice will lie 100 percent with the individual, whether or not to vaccinate. Anyone who wants a vaccine can still get it, but no Floridian will ever be forced to do so again.
Indeed, there are some interventions we can agree upon; no one wants to be bitten by a rabid dog and die, no one wants their kid to be paralyzed from polio. But it’s our job as physicians to make that argument. The argument got more difficult when other states made school enrollment contingent on being vaccinated against nonlethal diseases like ear infections and varicella.
~Dr. Joel Rudman, former Florida State Representative
Dr. Joel Rudman spoke out, got threatened, ran for office, and rewrote the rules. Governor DeSantis passed the law to ensure medical free speech for medical professionals. Now, doctors in Florida can speak freely, and patients make their own choices. That’s what freedom looks like.
Whatever history decides about this move, one conclusion is inevitable: the COVID era permanently damaged the trust between Americans and their doctors. And when trust is gone, mandates don’t stand a chance.
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