Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday called for lawmakers to make permanent existing state laws banning public and private mandates for Floridians to receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
“I’m here as governor making these protections permanent,” he said. “You should not be forced to take an mRNA shot against your will. That should be the right of every Floridian.”
“We’ve got to make that permanent,” DeSantis said. “We cannot allow those protections to evaporate.”
The governor said that he doesn’t know if organizations would “immediately” reimplement mandates, but warned “rationality” can be quickly lost.
The original provisions, when passed, were set to expire in June of this year.
#BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis asks lawmakers to make permanent the protections for Floridians from being mandated to take an mRNA vaccine – originally to expire in June
“I’m here as governor making these protections permanent,” he said. “You should not be forced to take an mRNA… pic.twitter.com/u3pF2muBXU
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 5, 2025
DeSantis also proposed adding vaccination status protections to Florida’s “Patient’s Bill of Rights.”
He warned that people have been denied transplants because “they did not have a COVID mRNA shot or booster.”
“How sick is that?” he said.
“We don’t want Floridians to be kicked out of a doctor’s office, denied treatment, or anything,” the governor said, if they have chosen not to take an mRNA vaccine.
