Florida is officially moving to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including those for schoolchildren. The announcement came from Florida’s surgeon general Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo in a press conference yesterday, where he announced that “every last one of [the mandates] is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”

“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in their body? Your body is a gift from God,” continued Dr. Ladapo, an anti-vaccine doctor who was issued a public rebuke by the FDA and CDC in 2023 for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.

It’s an unprecedented move that has jolted the world of public health — and, within the US, will likely foster even more skepticism and fear around what was once accepted as routine medical care. Fewer vaccine mandates means fewer vaccinations, which means a higher chance of infectious diseases spreading both in and out of Florida (and any other states that follow suit). And for children especially, removing school vaccine mandates could have very real repercussions.

“I was honestly devastated when I heard this news,” Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, a board-certified family medicine physician and health advocate based in Nevada, tells SheKnows. “My heart immediately went to all the children who will be impacted by this decision, especially those who are immunocompromised or have chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes.” These high-risk children often rely on herd immunity to protect them from infectious diseases, Dr. Curry-Winchell explains, which means removing guardrails like vaccine mandates “puts them at real risk.”

She’s especially concerned about the reappearance of diseases like polio and measles, which vaccines “had practically eliminated” until recently. “We’re talking about diseases that can cause lifelong disabilities and complications,” Dr. Curry-Winchell explains. “Kids will miss more school days when outbreaks occur, and some children may face serious, preventable health consequences. The ripple effects go far beyond just the individual child who gets sick.”

For Dr. Ari Brown, a Texas-based pediatrician and author of Baby 411, “it’s hard to feel shocked” at the news out of Florida, given the current political climate around vaccines. However, she noted that while “school requirements tend to improve vaccination rates, I don’t think it is the primary reason why parents vaccinate their children.” While regulatory moves like this are scary to hear about, “vaccination rates should remain high because we know that most American families DO vaccinate their children — not because it is required, but because it is the right thing to do to protect their kids from serious illness,” Dr. Brown emphasizes.

Vaccines remain essential for fighting infectious diseases and keeping up public health, notwithstanding the way they’ve been denigrated and politicized in the years since the pandemic. In fact, Dr. Curry-Winchell highlighted a 2024 CDC study estimating that vaccines have prevented over one million deaths among US children born between 1994 and 2023 — an “incredible number of lives saved,” she says.

Now that vaccine mandates are changing and rules are shifting across the country, it will be more important than ever for parents to stay on top of their child’s vaccination status and schedules. “Pediatricians have always recommended doing an annual well child visit for school-aged kids,” Dr. Brown says. “Parents can proactively ask if their child is due for any shots at that time and make sure to keep up with those visits every year.”

“Trust your instincts about protecting your family,” adds Dr. Curry-Winchell. “Talk to your pediatrician or primary care clinician about your child’s specific situation and what precautions make sense.” She also points out that a habit as simple as frequent hand-washing can drastically reduce your risk of getting sick. Make sure to teach your kids, too.

Watching vaccine skepticism sweep across the country and impact our children’s health is a terrifying thing, but as a parent, you’re not powerless. “Speak up, talk to other parents, stand up in your own community,” Dr. Brown urges, “because community immunity turns out to be a win-win for everyone.”

Before you go, shop these cold products to soothe your child’s symptoms: