Florida's been leading the charge against vaccine mandates since 2021.
Now the CDC finally caught up with what Ron DeSantis already knew.
And Ron DeSantis just backed the CDC vaccine rollback that has the left losing their minds.
Trump Administration Slashes Childhood Vaccine Recommendations
On January 5, the CDC made an unprecedented move when acting Director Jim O'Neill cut the number of universally recommended childhood vaccines from 18 diseases down to 11.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the review after President Trump directed HHS to examine how other countries handle childhood vaccinations.
Six vaccines were moved into either high-risk categories or "shared clinical decision-making" with doctors — including flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, RSV, and meningitis.
"After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent," Kennedy said in a statement.
The Left immediately melted down.
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Former CDC acting director Richard Besser called it "a radical and dangerous decision" that will "put children's lives at risk."
Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota said the move was "wildly irresponsible" and would "sow further doubt and confusion among parents."
But Ron DeSantis saw it differently.
DeSantis Calls New Schedule "More Manageable" For Parents
At a Make Healthy Florida First press conference on January 9, DeSantis came out swinging in support of the reduced vaccine schedule.
"When somebody is recommending or whether they're coercing, what is on the back end of that?" DeSantis asked. "What's the relationship between somebody in medical and big drug companies, for example. What's the financial arrangement?"
"I'm telling you, there's a seedy underbelly to all of this stuff," DeSantis added.
The governor pointed out that the number of recommended vaccines has exploded over the years without proper scrutiny.
"When I was a kid, we took some, there were a limited number, then that's just grown dramatically to all these jabs," DeSantis said.
He echoed Kennedy's concerns about the medical establishment's financial incentives pushing vaccines.
"We want people to be able to make the best decision for them, not necessarily what would be the best decision of some manufacturer," DeSantis stated.
Kennedy has been hammering this point for months.
The federal government ended the practice on December 30, 2025 when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it would stop tying doctor payments to patient vaccination rates.
Florida Already Moving to End All Vaccine Mandates
DeSantis isn't just talking about parental choice — he's acting on it.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced in September that the state plans to eliminate every single vaccine mandate on the books.
"Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Ladapo said.
"Your body is a gift from God," Ladapo explained. "What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God."
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The state already moved to repeal rules requiring hepatitis B, chickenpox, Haemophilus influenza type b, and pneumococcal vaccines for school attendance.
Those changes took effect in early December.
Florida also expanded religious exemptions to include any "sincerely held moral or ethical belief" — not just traditional religious doctrine.
Getting rid of the remaining mandates for polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, and tetanus will require the Legislature to act.
No bill has been filed yet.
But DeSantis made clear at the January press conference he supports wiping them all out.
"There's some physicians that won't see patients if they don't do some of these things," DeSantis said. "That's not informed consent, because like you either do it or suffer the consequences."
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"That's just not the way we want to go about it," DeSantis added.
The 2026 Florida legislative session begins this month.
Medical establishment groups threw a fit when Florida first announced the plan.
Dr. Aileen Marty at Florida International University claimed it "will cause havoc" and create "problems for funding free vaccines."
The American Academy of Pediatrics warned that DeSantis "will put children in Florida public schools at higher risk for getting sick."
But polls show Floridians split on the issue.
A James Madison Institute survey found 62% opposed eliminating all vaccine requirements, with 29% supporting the move.
That hasn't stopped DeSantis and Ladapo from pushing forward.
Florida would become the first state in the nation to completely eliminate vaccine requirements for schools.
And they're doing it while the Trump Administration leads the same fight at the federal level.
Democrats spent years claiming Trump and DeSantis were "anti-science" for questioning COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates.
Now the CDC itself just admitted the childhood vaccine schedule needed a major overhaul.
Florida's been ahead of the curve the entire time.
Sources:
- Ana Goñi-Lessan, "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stands behind CDC's vaccine rollback," USA TODAY Network – Florida, January 14, 2026.
- Chelsea Cirruzzo and Helen Branswell, "Childhood vaccine schedule slashed, 'unknown risks' of vaccination cited," STAT, January 5, 2026.
- Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Erika Edwards, Mustafa Fattah, Aria Bendix, "RFK Jr. overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark's in unprecedented move," NBC News, January 5, 2026.
- Ana Goñi-Lessan, "DeSantis administration pushes to eliminate all vaccine mandates in Florida," Florida Phoenix, September 3, 2025.
- "Doctors Will No Longer Receive Financial Rewards for Vaccinating Kids," Children's Health Defense, January 2, 2026.
- "Physicians plead with Florida lawmakers to resist ban on vaccine mandates," Florida Phoenix, October 21, 2025.
