A proposal to eliminate vaccine mandates for schoolchildren in Florida has sparked concern among medical professionals, who warn that it poses a significant threat to public safety.
The City of Jacksonville’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Sunil Joshi, is adding his voice to that concern.
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Joshi said that medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, caution that removing these mandates could reverse decades of progress in controlling preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, and polio.
“Eliminating vaccine mandates for school children in Florida is not merely a rollback of generations of preventative health policy—it is a profound threat to public safety,” Joshi said in a statement released Friday.
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He said lowered immunization rates could negatively impact not only children but also adult caregivers, school personnel, and those with compromised immune systems.
Joshi emphasized that the proposed policy is not about freedom but about relinquishing vital safeguards that protect communities.
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This is not the first time Joshi has advocated for vaccines. With COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in 2020, Joshi told Action News Jax that it was doctors’ "job to educate people appropriately in what vaccines are and what vaccines aren’t.”
After becoming Jacksonville’s Chief Health Officer in 2023, Joshi encouraged vaccination during a measles outbreak in Florida in March 2024.
“If you or a loved one has not been immunized against the measles, please talk to your healthcare provider about getting protected. Now is the time,” Joshi said at the time.
In August 2024, ahead of flu season, Joshi worked with the Duval County Medical Society’s #FluVaxJax campaign to remind people about getting that year’s flu shot.
“(The vaccine) has been around for over 50 years and can keep people out of the hospital and decrease their chances of having severe impacts of getting the flu,” he said at that time.
Read Joshi’s full statement about Florida’s proposal to end vaccine mandates below:
“Eliminating vaccine mandates for school children in Florida is not merely a rollback of generations of preventative health policy—it is a profound threat to public safety. Most organized medical societies like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association, the Florida Medical Association and the National Association of School Nurses warn that this move erodes decades of progress in controlling highly contagious, preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, whooping cough, polio, hepatitis and chicken pox. Vaccines have been one of public health’s most effective defenses in preventing communicable diseases.
“Lowered immunization rates not only negatively impact our children but also adult caregivers, school personnel and the immune compromised.
“Moreover, the long-term harm is not only medical—it’s economic as well. Illness leads to school absenteeism among students, which translates to parents missing work, putting further strain on households, small businesses and communities.
“Let’s be clear, this proposed policy is not about freedom—it’s about relinquishing vital safeguards that protect our children, our schools, and our communities. The risks are real, avoidable, and can be averted by maintaining vaccination requirements. Otherwise, we are playing with fire at the expense of public health.”
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