FORECAST HERE AT HOME. COMING UP. INDIVIDUAL MEDICAL FREEDOM, INFORMED CONSENT, PARENT RIGHTS. IT WAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT CAUGHT THE NATION’S ATTENTION. FLORIDA LEADERS TRYING TO DO AWAY WITH VACCINE MANDATES IN THE NAME OF MEDICAL FREEDOM. WE BROUGHT THIS TO YOU AS BREAKING NEWS YESTERDAY AT 4:00. AND NOW THE QUESTIONS ARE MOUNTING ABOUT WHAT THIS REALLY MEANS FOR OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS AND OUR CHILDREN’S HEALTH. HERE IN OUR STATE. WE’VE GOT LIVE TEAM COVERAGE THIS AFTERNOON ADDRESSING THE FALLOUT FROM THIS DECISION. WESH 2’S MICHELLE IMPERATO HAS A LOOK AT HEATED HEARINGS FROM THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY, RFK JR. BUT WE BEGIN WITH WESH 2 NEWS CHRISTINA WATKINS LIVE OUTSIDE ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HEADQUARTERS. CHRISTINA. AT LEAST ONE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER SUPPORTS THE STATE’S DECISION TO END THE MANDATE. YEAH, SOME ARE HAPPY ABOUT THIS DECISION. OTHERS SAY THEY’RE REALLY WORRIED. KEEP IN MIND THE STATE LEGISLATURE STILL NEEDS TO GET INVOLVED IN ORDER FOR THE VACCINE MANDATE TO BE GONE FOR GOOD, BUT BOARD MEMBERS TELL ME THEY EXPECT THIS TO POTENTIALLY BE A HOT TOPIC AT THEIR NEXT MEETING. ON THE HEELS OF FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL DOCTOR JOSEPH LADAPO MAKING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. WHO AM I TO TELL YOU WHAT YOUR CHILD SHOULD PUT IN YOUR BODY? MIXED RESPONSES CONTINUE TO POUR IN FROM PEOPLE FOR AND AGAINST THE STATE’S DECISION TO END VACCINE MANDATES. THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HAS REQUIRED VACCINATIONS FOR CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS, INCLUDING SHOTS AGAINST POLIO, MEASLES, MUMPS, RUBELLA AND CHICKENPOX. VERY EXCITED TO KNOW THAT WE WILL HAVE MEDICAL FREEDOM HERE IN THE FREE STATE OF FLORIDA. THE MORE PEOPLE THAT DON’T GET VACCINATIONS, THE MORE REALLY IN DANGER WE ARE OF HAVING A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS THE STATE’S FOURTH LARGEST SCHOOL DISTRICT, SERVING ABOUT 209,000 STUDENTS. BOARD MEMBER ALICIA FERRANTE SAYS SHE WAS EXCITED TO HEAR THIS WEEK’S ANNOUNCEMENT. TO KNOW THAT EVERYONE WILL HAVE THE CHOICE WHETHER YOU’D LIKE TO VACCINATE OR YOU ARE CHOOSING TO NOT VACCINATE YOUR CHILD BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH, THEY NOW HAVE THAT FREEDOM. FELLOW BOARD MEMBER STEPHANIE VANOS CALLED THE DECISION DEEPLY CONCERNING. WE WANT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS IN SCHOOL TO BE SAFE, AND THAT INCLUDES STUDENTS WHO MAY BE IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, STUDENTS WHO JUST HAVE BAD LUCK OF, YOU KNOW, OF GETTING A DISEASE THAT IMPACTS THEM MORE THAN SOMEONE ELSE. AND STUDENTS WHO HAVE FAMILIES AT HOME THAT ARE MAYBE ELDERLY OR ALSO IMMUNOCOMPROMISED, FRONT TELLS WESH TWO. ABOUT 20% OF OCPS STUDENTS ARE NOT VACCINATED FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS, AND THE STATE’S MOVE, SHE SAYS, OPENS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHER FAMILIES TO MAKE THEIR OWN CHOICE. IN RESPONSE TO THAT, WE DID GET A STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS WHO SAYS THEY’RE WORRIED THIS COULD PUT CHILDREN AT RISK, WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY HERE AT ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE DISTRICT TELLS US THAT THEIR PRIORITY IS TO MAINTAIN A SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. WE HEARD FROM OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS AROUND CENTRAL FLORIDA WHO SAID THE SAME COVERING ORANGE COUNT
Florida parents have mixed feelings on vaccine mandate changes
Updated: 10:45 PM EDT Sep 4, 2025
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Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Lapado is advocating to end the state’s vaccine mandate, prompting discussions among parents and health experts about the implications for children’s health and parental choice.Hanica Arthur, a mother from Central Florida, supports the idea of parental choice, saying, “I feel like it’s a stride in the right direction for parents to be able to have the choice for their children.”Arthur has chosen not to vaccinate her 1-year-old son, noting, “Nothing in the hospital when I gave birth, and nothing, any of his wellness, wellness visits, and our pediatrician has supported our decision and allowed it to be ours.”She emphasized that her pediatrician is not anti-vaccine but rather pro-parent choice.”Parents are allowed to make the decisions they feel fit for their own children and not based off of the government or a sector of people that push their own agenda on them,” Arthur said. Candace DeMatteis from the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease expressed concern over the potential consequences of ending the vaccine mandate.”It’s highly concerning. It’s very predictable what the consequences would be. You can look at history, and we have the story laid out in front of us,” she said.The Florida Department of Health currently requires vaccinations for children in schools, including shots against polio, measles-mumps-rubella, and chickenpox.DeMatteis described the state’s decision as confusing, stating, “It’s almost like a race to the bottom, and who can get there first? When you look at the risks involved to children and the vulnerabilities, you look at the polling numbers that counter any kind of political advantage from this, it really is a head-scratcher, honestly.”She expressed concern about the potential impact on thousands of students and families.”With an outbreak, they’re more vulnerable, more disease, more illness, more permanent damage and potentially death,” DeMatteis said.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Lapado is advocating to end the state’s vaccine mandate, prompting discussions among parents and health experts about the implications for children’s health and parental choice.
Hanica Arthur, a mother from Central Florida, supports the idea of parental choice, saying, “I feel like it’s a stride in the right direction for parents to be able to have the choice for their children.”
Arthur has chosen not to vaccinate her 1-year-old son, noting, “Nothing in the hospital when I gave birth, and nothing, any of his wellness, wellness visits, and our pediatrician has supported our decision and allowed it to be ours.”
She emphasized that her pediatrician is not anti-vaccine but rather pro-parent choice.
“Parents are allowed to make the decisions they feel fit for their own children and not based off of the government or a sector of people that push their own agenda on them,” Arthur said.
Candace DeMatteis from the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease expressed concern over the potential consequences of ending the vaccine mandate.
“It’s highly concerning. It’s very predictable what the consequences would be. You can look at history, and we have the story laid out in front of us,” she said.
The Florida Department of Health currently requires vaccinations for children in schools, including shots against polio, measles-mumps-rubella, and chickenpox.
DeMatteis described the state’s decision as confusing, stating, “It’s almost like a race to the bottom, and who can get there first? When you look at the risks involved to children and the vulnerabilities, you look at the polling numbers that counter any kind of political advantage from this, it really is a head-scratcher, honestly.”
She expressed concern about the potential impact on thousands of students and families.
“With an outbreak, they’re more vulnerable, more disease, more illness, more permanent damage and potentially death,” DeMatteis said.
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