The cost of neglecting our best data brings consequences.
Early in September, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced his intention to end mandatory vaccines in the state of Florida. He likened it to slavery, refused reputable data, and felt it was a detriment to the personal freedom of Americans who do not have a choice when vaccinating their child. The issues that arise when public health officials speak this way are more sick people, and more dead people. The facts and the evidence do not support the claims of Ladapo or Govenor Ronald Dion DeSantis.
“Currently the proposed changes include the removal of the Hepatitis B, Varicella, Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), and Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines from the immunization requirements,” according to statements released by the Florida Department of Health. “The rule change is not effective immediately. The Department initiated the rule change on September 3, 2025, and anticipates the rule change will not be effective for approximately 90 days.”
Other vaccines required by state law will remain mandatory for now, such as the ones for measles, polio, diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis, (DTaP) or mumps and rubella (MMR) – unless the Florida Legislature changes the statue – but ending all mandates is, in fact, Ladapo’s stated intention. The Florida Legislature will not reconvene until January of 2026.
Vocal critics and agencies have come out against the policy change, citing the importance of vaccines and the danger of rhetoric like Ladapo’s.
“Right now I’m very concerned about what’s happening at the state level … the information that is being produced and put out about the vaccines in children,” said Dr. Thresia Gambon, of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We know the vaccines are essential, and they’re important, and they protect our kids from getting sick.”
Vaccine hesitancy isn’t a new phenomenon and has roots dating back as early as the late 1700s, when Edward Jenner began his cowpox experiment to fight small pox. Anti-vaccine rhetoric began to change in the late 20th century, when a research article by Andrew Wakefield was published in 1998 by a prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, finding a link between autism and vaccines – except that it wasn’t true. Wakefield conducted his study on only 12 children, but additionally, journalist Brian Deer later found that he had falsified his findings.
This didn’t stop the movement though, because despite all the reputable data that debunks anti-vaccination claims, there was still Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In 2005, Kennedy authored an article called “Deadly Immunity,” which Rolling Stone and Salon’s website published. Kennedy claimed there was a massive cover-up that discovered a link between the chemical thimerosal (which contained ethyl mercury in vaccines) and autism. If true, this would have been a groundbreaking new discovery that would have shed light on the rise of autism and neurological disorders amongst children (except that, once again – it wasn’t true).
The ethyl mercury was in such low doses that it was not a concern for toxicity, whereas methyl mercury would be – but it has never been prevalent in any vaccine. The AAP even states that after the removal of thimerosal, the rate of autism actually rose.
Kennedy’s article was riddled with sensationalized data and factual errors, leading to both Rolling Stone and Salon retracting the article. This did not stop RFK, or his anti-vaccination activism. Kennedy started the Children’s Health Defense, an advocacy organization that prides itself on being anti-vax and anti-big pharma.
These types of misinformation became a continuous effort that is still ongoing today. Within this misinformation bubble, the COVID 19 pandemic became a perfect catalyst for super-charging vaccine skepticism.
During the COVID 19 era, doubt of the vaccine’s efficacy became one of the narratives among the MAGA community in President Trump’s first term. Although vaccine safety was not at the top of Trump’s list, COVID 19 popularized vaccine fears – especially considering how quickly the vaccine was released, the new mRNA technology, and the overall general distrust of pharmaceutical companies.
Vaccine skeptics felt a pushback from questions they posed for their health concerns. Zach Dobosh, a current vaccine skeptic, claims to have suffered a vaccine injury after taking the mRNA variant of the covid vaccine in 2021.
“I got my second one [vaccine dose], I didn’t notice anything immediately but essentially over the next two weeks I went from running 5 miles a day … to not running at all,” said Dobosh. “About two weeks into that … more serious side effects began emerging, a lot of, like, chest pressure and pains, arrhythmias … debilitating pressure around the skull and spine.”
When Dobosh went to his primary care physician in hopes of treatment, the side effects of the vaccine were still poorly understood, mostly due to how new it was. He said his doctor was unsure how to treat his symptoms. Because Dobosh felt he was not receiving proper treatment from his doctor, he turned to other avenues.
Dobosh found Facebook groups that primarily dealt with vaccine injuries. In these Facebook groups Dobosh was met with like-minded people that also shared their grievances of their various ailments from the vaccine. Dobosh said he noticed censorship on the social media website.
“There were two vaccine-injured Facebook groups that, within days of joining them, had like 800,000 people on them – within a couple of days of joining, they were just wiped from Facebook,” Dobosh said.
Dobosh scoured the internet for someone to help, and he eventually found a physician that would. The doctor he went to diagnosed him with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart that causes issues like shortness of breath and chest pain with potential serious risks, and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS. The doctor treated him with steroids, ivermectin and fluoxetine (Prozac). Dobosh said these treatments worked well for him.
*The CDC does not recommend Ivermectin as a potential treatment to COVID 19 nor for the COVID 19 vaccine. Everything Is Fine* does not encourage medical advice based on anecdotal experience.
“I would say within the next two weeks after that there was the largest, like, drop off of my symptomology,” Dobosh said.
Myocarditis has since been a topic of research and study correlated to mRNA vaccines. The CDC found a causal relationship between mRNA vaccines and myocarditis in young men ages 12 to 29 – and often after the second dose, which was precisely Dobosh’s experience. The CDC is continuing to research the link between myocarditis and mRNA, and the FDA has even issued a warning for prescribers for the mRNA vaccine.
Although vaccines are never 100% risk free, after considering this rare side effect the CDC said that the benefits outweigh the risks and the NIH published an article that acknowledges the number of potential lives that were saved from the COVID-19 vaccine.
Based on his account, Dobosh was one of the unique cases – he was harmed by the vaccine. His is a rare case (although it’s of little comfort to be told how rare your affliction is), and only a few thousand were affected by this disorder. Of those thousands affected, many were able to manage their symptoms with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen along with rest.
But when Dobosh discussed his personal account of the health issues he was facing, he received criticism for it.
“My own personal experience sharing on Facebook, and I would have family members respond and tell me … it’s all in my head,” Dobosh said. “There was a strong ostracization of anybody talking about vaccine injuries.”
Dobosh isn’t anti-vax, but more accurately a vaccine skeptic – largely due to his own personal experience of vaccine injury. Dobosh does believe people should get critical vaccines, but remains fearful that the research isn’t exactly airtight. He feels there needs to be even more transparency in our vaccines and institutions. Dobosh was candid about his lack of deep knowledge regarding certain vaccines, but cited the Hepatitis B vaccine as one he felt should be taken off the immunization list.
“I’m not against saying there’s going to be vaccines that are necessary, that everybody has to do their part in,” Dobosh said. “Hepatitis B is transmitted sexually, or by needles … so only the babies that are exposed to it should be treated for it.”
The pro-vaccination organization Vaccinate Your Family (VYF), unsurprisingly, has different thoughts on hepatitis B. VYF cited data from the CDC that 1.25 million people in the U.S. are infected with hepatitis B, and this results in 2,000 to 4,000 deaths a year. VYF also mentioned that parents need to understand that the risk of infection is not solely based on sexual contact, but that children are also susceptible through scrapes, cuts and even bites. The virus can remain infectious for up to 7 days in its environment, and many of those infected by hepatitis B contract it from their mothers who didn’t know they had it.
It’s easy to see how someone with a legitimate health concern could become a vaccine skeptic, especially considering the accompanying backlash of harsh opinions during a time of uncertainty.
This isn’t meant to advocate for vaccine skepticism, or perpetuate a belief that vaccines are not effective. This is meant to portray a story of a young person who, very likely, was harmed by a vaccine – and during the depths of a pandemic when vaccine skepticism was thriving. If a person’s community won’t accept them, the only place to turn is one that will.
It should be acknowledged that vaccines are not perfectly risk-free, and that people should be skeptical of our institutions – but disseminating between fact and fiction is equally important. The cost of neglecting our best data brings consequences. Vaccines are an odds game – and the odds greatly favor those who are vaccinated. But try telling that to someone who has a personal experience that demonstrates otherwise.
August 18 marked the end of the measles outbreak in Texas which began in January of 2025. The outbreak resulted in 762 infected individuals, as well as two deaths of school-aged children. 2025, by itself, has seen the most amount of measles infections in the last 30 years. In the United States over 1500 infected cases and 40 outbreaks have been reported this year so far. Measles is a highly contagious disease with the potential to live in the air for hours, and when left untreated may cause pneumonia and severe infection. Long term effects may also include Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE), a fatal disease that typically doesn’t show up until later in life.
“Measles is very dangerous and can live on the surface for hours,” Dr. Gambon said. “So, you might go in the store an hour later, and you still could be exposed to this illness.”
Not all who choose to opt out of vaccine requirements are anti-vax people. There are legitimate reasons such as medical concerns for immune deficient children, where taking a vaccine may have dire consequences. Even religious exemption is considered a legitimate reason, as most states permit it. Because of the rarity of these types of exemptions, herd immunity remains high and has for years – up until recently.
Currently for Florida the total immunization rate for kindergartners has lowered to 88.7% whereas in 2015 the immunization rate was at 92.8%. For diseases such as measles, the population of those vaccinated needs to be at least 95% for the illness to be unlikely to spread.
The immunization rate has been steadily decreasing, posing potentially serious risks for further infections to come. It’s unclear what the future holds, but many are fearful of what these changes may bring. The possibility of being skeptical and scrutinizing your institutions, while understanding the practicalities of medical science and its accomplishments, can be realized. The difference is listening to those that are reputable and not dismissing them based on pseudoscientific principles – because not taking a shot that is well known to have fought off infections for the last 50 years not only affects individuals, but the people around them as well.
The prospect of entirely avoidable deaths, especially among schoolchildren, is enough to make even seasoned veteran professionals like Dr. Gambon emotional.
“I did an interview the other day, and I was really almost in tears – because I’ve dedicated my life to helping kids and families, and it’s very hard for me to think that some of my kids may suffer, my future patients may suffer – and I really want what’s best for them,” said Dr. Gambon.