Advocates for cancer patients and cancer survivors have joined Florida medical associations in objecting to a revived Florida Department of Health plan to strike four longstanding vaccine mandates that the advocates say are safe and life-saving.
The Department of Health wants to eliminate the mandates, not for medical reasons but to advance “medical freedom,” as espoused by the department’s head, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Currently, Florida vaccine mandates apply to public and private schools, child care facilities and family day care homes.
Monday, Sept. 14, is the deadline to comment on the plan. Based on reports that a public hearing has been requested, one is expected.
Among the organizations defending the mandated vaccines is the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
“Many individuals in Florida, especially cancer patients, have weakened immune systems that make them more vulnerable to communicable illnesses. Some cannot be vaccinated, or vaccines may be less effective for them, particularly those with blood cancers or undergoing treatments like chemotherapy, long-term steroids, certain immunotherapies or stem cell and bone marrow transplants,” wrote Susan Harbin, Florida senior director of government relations for ACS CAN. “This is why high community-level vaccination rates are critical.”
Florida has the fifth-highest incidence of cancer in the nation, according to five-year data cited by ACS CAN and attributed to the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (2018-22).
Also objecting are the Florida Chapter of American College of Physicians and the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, both of which wrote letters in opposition and requested the state hold a public hearing on the matter.
The Florida Trident asked the Department of Health communications team by voicemail and email how many other comments for and against the proposed rule had been submitted so far, how many letters were received, and by whom. The department did not respond before close of business Friday.
The comments likely will prove to be a mix of strong support and strong opposition, if previous testimony is an indication. Scores of people gave pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine, and anti-mandate testimony at a public hearing in December and in the last legislative session. Many were physicians citing evidence that vaccines are safe, effective and necessary for public health. Some were parents worried that their children could be exposed to preventable diseases at largely unvaccinated schools, while others claimed their children were injured by vaccines. Some objected to health-care mandates of any kind, citing distrust of government.
“Medical freedom” round two
Last month, the Department of Health resurrected a failed plan introduced last September to eliminate four school-entry vaccine requirements under the department’s administrative control. Those are vaccines against chickenpox (varicella), hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), and pneumococcal bacteria.
Another seven vaccines are mandated by state law. The proposed rule change would make it easy for parents to opt out of them. They vaccinate against measles, mumps, and rubella (combined into an MMR shot); diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (combined into a DTaP shot); and polio. Pertussis is whooping cough.
Despite support from DeSantis and his “medical freedom” campaign, the Florida Legislature in its January-to-March session declined to widely expand exemptions that would have gutted vaccine requirements. Florida already offers medical and religious exemptions. At the time, there was a measles outbreak at a Collier County university.
Patients perspective
The Cancer Action Network, in announcing its opposition to the newly proposed vaccine-rule changes, cited its finding that cancer patients and cancer survivors largely endorse mandatory vaccination, and even see promise in vaccines preventing cancer. Its survey contained 1,445 patients and survivors, including the parents of children who are patients or survivors.
“Cancer patients and survivors strongly support school entry vaccine requirements; 86 percent support vaccine requirements for school entry and only 9 percent support eliminating them,” its survey found. Nearly 60 percent reported that “shared decision making” causes confusion about which vaccines to take and when, and they cite physicians as their most trusted source for guidance.
“Cancer patients and survivors overwhelmingly support the potential of vaccines in oncology,” the survey found. Three-to-one, respondents endorsed adding HPV vaccine (to prevent cervical cancer years later) to school-entry mandates, and 84 percent support greater investment in mRNA research like the work that led to development of most COVID-19 vaccines.
“In oncology, mRNA vaccines produce tumor-specific proteins that can train a patient’s immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells,” the Cancer Society says.
Doctors object
The American College of Physicians’ Florida chapter claims approximately 10,000 members. Writing on its behalf, attorney Chris Nuland wrote to the Department of Health: “Numerous scientifically vetted studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of these immunizations, while the Chapter is unaware of any substantial competent evidence that would indicate otherwise.”
The Florida chapter’s letter also criticized the part of the plan that would grant an essentially unlimited exemption for parents who claim to hold “a sincerely held moral or ethical belief” in conflict with vaccination. No evidence of such a belief would be required.
Writing for the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which claims 2,900 members, Executive Director Alicia Adams requested a public hearing on the proposed rule. Her letter noted that unvaccinated children not only can contract preventable diseases but also can spread them to medically vulnerable classmates, family at home, and vulnerable people in their communities.
“(Chapter members) believe it’s a moral imperative that all children receive quality health care, not just for their immediate wellbeing, but also to encourage their growth into productive, contributing adults that will ensure a bright future for our state and its residents for decades to come,” Adams wrote.
At the Cancer Action Network, policy analyst Cathy Peters said school-age children with cancer are of special concern.
“Children with immune-compromised situations … are counting on their peers and the other children in that school,” she said.
Laura Cassels is a veteran Florida journalist and former Capitol Bureau chief who specializes in science, the environment, and the economy. The Florida Trident is an investigative news outlet focusing on government accountability and transparency across Florida. The Trident was created and first published in 2022 by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-profit organization that facilitates local investigative reporting across the state.
