Governor Ron De Santis plans to make Florida the first US state to end all vaccine mandates.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday.
He said: “The Florida Department of Health in partnership with the governor is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law, all of them, all of them, every last one of them.”
Equating the vaccine mandates with slavery, Ladapo said: “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”
“Who am I as a government [official], or anyone else, or who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body?” Ladapo asked.
“I don’t have that right. Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God,” he continued.
“They want you to believe they have that right and unfortunately they’ve been successful. They’ve been successful.”
Governor DeSantis announced that Ladapo would head the state’s MAHA Commission.
He said Florida will create a MAHA commission and “recommend state-level integration” of the movement’s policies, which includes “individual medical freedom,” “informed consent,” and “parent rights.”