Florida Senate debates bill to expand vaccine exemptions
Key Points(5)
- The Florida Senate on Friday held a floor discussion on legislation that would expand vaccine exemptions for public school students, even as the measure faces slim prospects in the Florida House of Representatives during the final week of the legislative session.
- Senators amended the bill (SB 1756) to prohibit health care practitioners from receiving kickbacks from vaccine manufacturers and to clarify the information that must be provided by the Florida Board of Medicine about vaccines, including their risks, benefits, safety and effectiveness.
- The changes would apply when parents decide whether to opt in or out of vaccinating their children.
- The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Monday.
- However, the House has not advanced its version, making it unlikely the proposal will pass before the legislative session ends March 13.
The Florida Senate on Friday held a floor discussion on legislation that would expand vaccine exemptions for public school students, even as the measure faces slim prospects in the Florida House of Representatives during the final week of the legislative session.
Senators amended the bill (SB 1756) to prohibit health care practitioners from receiving kickbacks from vaccine manufacturers and to clarify the information that must be provided by the Florida Board of Medicine about vaccines, including their risks, benefits, safety and effectiveness. The changes would apply when parents decide whether to opt in or out of vaccinating their children.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill Monday. However, the House has not advanced its version, making it unlikely the proposal will pass before the legislative session ends March 13.
House Speaker Daniel Perez said that the chamber would not consider the measure.
“That’s a bill that wasn’t heard in the House, it wasn’t heard in the committee process. Obviously, we function differently than the Senate,” Perez told reporters. “A bill that hasn’t moved in the House is not going to be brought up at this time.”
The bill, sponsored by Clay Yarborough, a Republican from Jacksonville, would expand vaccine exemptions for public K-12 schools by creating a new “conscience” category allowing parents to opt their children out of immunizations.
It would also require health care practitioners administering vaccines to offer parents an alternative vaccination schedule and provide information on the benefits and risks of vaccines at the time of immunization.
While the bill does not include a key proposal backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to eliminate all vaccine requirements for entry into public K-12 schools, it contains another measure supported by the governor. The provision would allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin — an anti-parasitic drug often used in animals — over the counter to adults without a prescription and grant pharmacists immunity from liability.
Other legislation tied to DeSantis’ broader agenda — including proposals requiring doctors to treat patients regardless of vaccination status and allowing individuals allegedly harmed by vaccines to sue manufacturers — failed to advance in the Legislature.
According to the Florida Department of Health, 124 measles cases have been reported so far in 2026, with most linked to an outbreak at Ave Maria University in Collier County.
Meanwhile, Joseph Ladapo and the Department of Health have begun pursuing rule changes that would repeal several vaccine requirements for public K-12 students overseen by the agency.
Those vaccines include those for hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) and pneumococcal disease.
