TLDRFlorida Republicans have advanced a bill to weaken vaccine protections for children, allowing parents to opt out of vaccinations for reasons of conscience, alongside religious exemptions. The bill, which passed a health policy committee, does not eliminate all immunization mandates, keeping in place requirements for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio vaccines. This move falls short of the state surgeon general's earlier promise to end all vaccine mandates.

Source: The Guardian February 02, 2026 13:06 UTC