TAMPA, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Tampa to call for legislation to permanently ban mRNA vaccine mandates and add vaccination status protections to the state’s Bill of Rights.
Press play above to re-watch the news conference
DeSantis said a sunset provision to ban mRNA COVID-19 vaccine mandates will expire soon, which is why he is calling on the Florida Legislature to make the ban permanent.
“You should not be forced to take an mRNA shot against your will, and that should be the right of every Floridian,” DeSantis said. “If a sunset happens, it will also allow schools in higher ed to be able to institute some of these mRNA mandates.”
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DeSantis said he also hopes the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removes the COVID-19 vaccine from the childhood immunization schedule.
The governor also called for an update to Florida statutes to prohibit healthcare providers and facilities from discriminating against patients based on their vaccination status.
“It is unfortunate that in this country, we don’t think in Florida, but it has happened in this country where people have been denied transplants because they did not have a COVID mRNA shot and booster. Now, how sick is that somebody needs a kidney, you’re not going to let them have it because they didn’t do an mRNA shot?” DeSantis said.
Florida Department of Health Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo attended the news conference and expressed his support for the governor’s call to action against the vaccine mandates.
Ladapo also addressed the recent rise in measles cases across the country, stating that while the viral infection is ‘extremely contagious,’ parents should have the final say on whether to vaccinate their child.