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CNN host Jake Tapper sparred with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on “State of the Union” Sunday over his push to end all school vaccine mandates in his state.
At a news conference Wednesday, Ladapo outlined his plan to end “every last one” of the vaccine mandates for Florida schoolchildren, including those for polio and measles.
Tapper asked Ladapo whether he had any projection of how many new cases of these diseases Florida could expect without the mandates. Ladapo answered that he did not make any projection, arguing that his decision was “very clearly” about parents’ rights. Tapper grew skeptical at the response.
“You’re trying to lift the vaccine mandate in Florida, and your department, and you did not even do a projection as to how this could impact public health?” Tapper asked. “So you have not prepared hospitals in the Florida counties, most at risk, with the best treatments for any outbreaks of measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough, polio. And you have not looked into how many kids might now get these preventable diseases? That’s what you’re saying?”
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“No, that’s what you said,” Dr. Ladapo replied. “What I’m saying is that it’s an issue of right and wrong in terms of whether parents should be able to control, have ultimate authority over what happens to their kids’ bodies.”
Tapper emphasized that no other state has tried removing vaccine mandates and that the move “goes against what’s recommended by every top medical organization.” Ladapo stood by his plan and recalled his past opposition to lockdowns and vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite popular opinion at the time.
“I have to say just, I’m very…I’m kind of shocked that you have not done any sort of projection or data analysis of what this is actually going to literally mean for kids in Florida,” Tapper responded.
The CNN anchor then asked what message Ladapo’s plan sends to parents of immunocompromised children who rely on herd immunity.
“You talk about liberty and freedom for parents, but it seems like you’re removing liberty and freedom for the parents of kids who are immunocompromised,” Tapper said.
“It’s an interesting way to conceive that, to sort of describe that,” Ladapo said. “But I don’t think that’s the dynamic at all… [Parents]are the ultimate arbiters of what happens with their children. That’s how it should be. And that’s why my position will never change, because that will always be true. It will always be true that parents should be able to decide what goes on, what goes into their kids’ bodies. I mean, it’s not complex at all.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Florida Department of Health for comment.
Florida currently requires eight vaccinations for children attending childcare, preschool, and K–12 schools, including diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP); inactivated poliovirus (IPV, polio); and measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).
Ladapo’s plan has received mixed reactions since his announcement on Wednesday. On Friday, President Donald Trump called eliminating vaccine mandates a “tough” position to take, adding that some “vaccines should be used.”
“You have some vaccines that are so incredible, and I think you have to be very careful when you say that some people don’t have to be vaccinated. It’s a very tough position … it’s a tough stance,” Trump said.
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