According to Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, Florida plans to be the first state in the nation to cancel all of their vaccine mandates for all public school students K-12. His beliefs gained support from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s who questions the necessity of vaccines, and their impact on other issues, such as rising autism rates, mental health issues, or chronic health issues.
But as a doctor, who took an oath to “solemnly pledge to consecrate [his] life to the service of humanity,” Ladapo is actively endangering America’s children and setting a precedent for other state governments to put their own convictions before the lives of the people they serve. While his statement does not disallow students from getting vaccines, it strongly encourages that they are not necessary, in turn making schools more unsafe.
Most recently, CDC officials changed the childhood vaccination schedule, recommending that children do not have to be treated for rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, and the seasonal flu.
According to the CDC, as of January 6, the most easily transmissible, yet preventable disease, influenza (the seasonal flu), has had a 7.1% increase in cases just this week. There has also been a spike in patients admitted to the hospital in the 2025-2026 flu season.
As early as 1796, doctors and scientists have created vaccines that introduce weakened bacteria into the human immune system to allow the body to build antibodies. According to the CDC, if one gets treated with a vaccine, there is less of a chance that they get that disease. If one chooses not to, they open themselves up to a variety of illnesses.
As an example, in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, smallpox was spread throughout the Americas, with around 300 million deaths in the 20th century alone. However, in the 1850s and into the 1900s, the smallpox vaccine spread and became mandatory in England, Wales, and the United States. On May 8, 1980, because of the widespread availability of vaccines as well as the enforcement of vaccine mandates, smallpox was declared eradicated.
Although the World Health Organization (WHO) was mainly responsible for delivering mass vaccinations, it was only truly eradicated because national governments complied. In areas without a vaccine mandate, rates often drop well below the 95% “herd immunity rate,” meaning that fewer people are protected, and a disease is easier to spread, in the process infiltrating schools, leading to public health emergencies.
Given CDC guidelines, more and more parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children, who are considered “at risk.” According to the CDC, the percentage of vaccinated flu-related pediatric deaths is 11%, while the death rate for unvaccinated children is 89%.
In Boston, which, according to the Boston Public Health Commission, has a 135% surge in hospitalizations, there have been a total of four pediatric deaths just this season. Doctors in the commission have reiterated that vaccinations decrease the risk of severe complications and should limit hospitalizations altogether.
However, a big focus of the commission is on the schools in the city. As a result of the rise in cases, school attendance has been low. But, it isn’t just children affected.
It’s their siblings, their parents, and it targets their teachers, too, especially those who are older. It creates a domino effect: low attendance leads to academic setbacks which can harm children long term. For siblings and parents, that could mean a week off of school and work, too. For teachers, this could mean a struggle to find a substitute and adequately teach their students.
So, meet with your doctors. Only they can make informed decisions on your health. Many doctors may suggest that you get vaccinated, and you must know that they are well-informed in science and medicine. Under the oath that they took, they will never intentionally put you or your health in danger.
Please consider the consequences of foregoing vaccines and of ignoring the recommendations of your doctor.
