U.S. House Democrats from Florida have signed a urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to reverse Florida鈥檚 plans to eliminate school vaccine mandates.
Led by U.S. House Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, the lawmakers write that removing the mandates will hurt public health and tourism. They also criticized Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo for comparing vaccine mandates to slavery.
鈥淭he majority of Floridians have confidence in and rely upon universal vaccination programs,鈥� said Wasserman Schultz . She also said was disappointed with her Republican congressional colleagues in Florida for not signing the letter.
The letter, signed by all eight House Democrats from Florida, was in response to last Wednesday鈥檚 announcement by DeSantis and Ladapo to make Florida the first state to remove school vaccine mandates.
Ladapo said the state Health Department would take steps to eliminate the mandates, calling them "immoral" intrusions that hamper parents' ability to make health decisions for their children.
On Monday, after getting pushback from top members of his own Republican Party, including President Donald Trump, DeSantis said he opposed vaccine mandates 鈥� not vaccines.
READ MORE: Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly slams end of school vaccine mandates, GOP agenda
currently requires students in public and private schools from daycare through 12th grade to have specific immunizations, unless they obtain a valid exemption. routine childhood immunizations such as DTaP, polio, measles-mumps-rubella, chickenpox and hepatitis B.
religious exemptions from their county health department if vaccination conflicts with their religious beliefs or practices.
They can also obtain medical exemptions from health providers who have to state that a child cannot be fully immunized with "valid clinical reasoning or evidence, according to the state鈥檚 health department . This exemption can be temporary or permanent.
Around 89% of students entering kindergarten in the state are immunized, a decline from 94% in 2017.
PolitiFact Florida, a SA国际传谋 News partner, contributed to this story.
