Florida Legislature won't pass vaccine exemption bill this session

Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald on Mar 5, 2026

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Legislature won’t change the state‘s vaccine laws this session.

Although the Florida Senate is set to pass legislation that would make it easier to opt out of vaccines that are required for school, House Speaker Daniel Perez on Wednesday confirmed the bill would not move forward in his chamber.

“That’s a bill that wasn’t heard in the House,” Perez said. “A bill that hasn’t moved in the House is not going to be brought up at this time.”

Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, and Rep. Jeff Holcomb, R-Spring Hill, filed legislation that was milder than what Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo suggested when he proposed removing all vaccine mandates from law last year.

The bills proposed keeping vaccine mandates, but would let parents easily access exemption forms and let them opt their children out of required shots based on their conscience.

Current law only allows exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

The proposed legislation also would have required healthcare workers to show parents information, set by the state’s medical boards, about the risks, benefits, safety and efficacy of vaccines.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers still pushed back on the more moderate version of the bill.

In the House, the bill never received a committee hearing. And in the Senate, some Republican senators said the bill could threaten a parent’s ability to protect their children and weaken public health.

Holcomb’s legislation included a priority of Ladapo, Gov. Ron DeSantis and first lady Casey DeSantis — language that could compel physicians to see unvaccinated patients.

The Senate bill is set for a vote Friday.

Despite the legislation stalling in the House this session, the Department of Health is moving forward with a plan to remove four vaccines from state rules, which it can do unilaterally.

The vaccines the state no longer plans to mandate are for varicella, or chickenpox; Hepatitis B; Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib; and Pneumococcal conjugate, or PCV15/20.

State law still would require vaccines for polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.

The state is also proposing a rule change to expand vaccine exemptions to allow parents to cite their conscience, similar to the proposed legislation.

The legislation, though, would have made the form easier for parents to access online, rather than going to a county health department to pick it up.