Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special legislative session in April to consider proposed changes to childhood vaccination requirements, including a measure that would allow children to opt out of certain school vaccinations. The Republican-led Florida House declined to take up the proposal, while the state Senate backed it.

The Medical Freedom bill would have given parents the option to exempt their children from required vaccinations based on conscience. Florida law currently allows medical and religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements.

Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez said of the proposal, "That was something that I was uncomfortable with." DeSantis responded to the House's decision on social media, writing, "Typical political shenanigans."

In September, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced that he and DeSantis would work to end all vaccine mandates in Florida. Ladapo is working with the state health department to repeal mandates for vaccines against varicella, hepatitis B, pneumococcal bacteria, and Haemophilus influenzae type B, a bacterium that can be deadly. Requirements for vaccinations against measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, diphtheria, and polio would require legislation to change.

Speaking about vaccine mandates, Ladapo said, "All of them, all of them, all of them, every last one of them. Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery."

Ladapo also addressed the House's refusal to advance the proposal. "The governor's agenda to defend freedom, whether from medical tyranny or tech oligarchs, is something Floridians and Americans everywhere want and value. Members of the Florida House should be leading that effort, not standing in the way," he said.

A University of North Florida poll conducted in October found that 63 percent of Floridians are against ending vaccine mandates, including 48 percent who were strongly opposed.