Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has ignited controversy by candidly admitting that his department did not examine the link between discontinuing vaccine mandates and an increase in preventable diseases.

Ladapo, who was crucial in pushing forward the state’s policy to end the mandate, doubled down that his position ‘will never change.’

During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, when asked if his team had assessed the potential rise in cases following the removal of vaccine requirements, Ladapo responded: ‘Absolutely not.’

He elaborated: ‘Do I need to evaluate whether it’s right for parents to decide what their children are exposed to? No analysis is necessary for that.’

The defiant health chief insisted his stance was rooted in principle, declaring: ‘My position will never change, because it will always be true that parents should be able to decide what goes into their kids’ bodies.’

Ladapo first announced the sweeping repeal at a press conference with Governor Ron DeSantis on September 3, vowing to end ‘every last one’ of Florida’s vaccine requirements for schoolchildren – mandates that have been in place for decades to guard against measles, polio, hepatitis B, chickenpox and other illnesses.

‘Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,’ Ladapo, a longtime critic of vaccines, said. ‘Who am I as a government or anyone else… to tell you what your child should put in their body? I don’t have that right.’

‘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,’ CNN Anchor Jake Tapper told Ladapo. 

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo doubled down on his vow to scrap every vaccine mandate for schoolchildren – despite admitting he did not study the link to rising disease cases

Florida’s childhood vaccination rate already lags behind the national average, with just 88.7 percent of kindergarteners receiving the measles, mumps and rubella shot compared with 92 percent nationwide

Florida already trails the national average for childhood immunizations. 

Just 88.7 percent of kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, compared with 92 percent nationwide, according to state and federal data.

At the same time, cases of hepatitis A, chickenpox and whooping cough are on the rise.

Ladapo has dismissed concerns, singling out the whooping cough vaccine as ‘ineffective’ at preventing transmission – a claim rejected by mainstream medical groups.

His refusal to study the link between mandates and outbreaks has drawn condemnation across the political spectrum. 

Fox News medical correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel called the move ‘absurd and disturbing beyond belief,’ while the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Florida Medical Association have all voiced opposition.

Democratic leaders in Florida also blasted the policy on X. 

State Rep. Anna Eskamani called the plan ‘reckless and dangerous’ and ‘a public health disaster in the making,’ while House Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell warned it was ‘stunningly reckless’ and accused DeSantis of ‘trading the health of our kids for media headlines.’

Ladapo first unveiled the sweeping repeal alongside Governor Ron DeSantis on September 3, branding long-standing vaccine requirements ‘wrong’ and comparing them to slavery

Donald Trump has voiced unease over Florida’s plan, warning that vaccines like polio are ‘so amazing’ and insisting ‘we have to be very careful’ about removing mandates

The proposal has been so shocking that even Donald Trump – whose first term oversaw the development of the COVID-19 vaccine – expressed unease. 

Speaking in the Oval Office on September 5, the former president said: ‘I think we have to be very careful. You have some vaccines that are so amazing. You have some vaccines that are so incredible.’

‘Look, you have vaccines that work,’ he continued. ‘They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all, and I think those vaccines should be used, otherwise some people are going to catch it, and they endanger other people.’

The announcement came shortly after DeSantis revealed a new ‘Florida Make America Healthy Again’ commission, designed to align the state with Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial health initiative.