As Florida moves to end vaccine mandates, pediatricians fear more states could follow

Dr. Mona Amin:

So we have to understand that, in public health, public health is looking out for exactly that, the public’s health. So a lot of the policy here is looking out for the greater good.

So an example here is that we can say, well, I’m going to drive and drink at the same time, right? So I’m going to get behind the wheel. It’s my body, my choice, my car. Yet doing so is going to put other people on that road at risk. So there has to be guardrails here.

Same thing for vaccine mandates. If we are going to be going into a public school system or even a private school system where children are in enclosed spaces, where respiratory viruses and bacteria can spread, the things that we prevent with vaccine-preventable illnesses, we are putting each other at risk.

So, the risk here is that we are going to bring home these illnesses to the unvaccinated children. And also remember that even children who are fully vaccinated, vaccines are not 100 percent. So that small risk that they can get the virus or bacteria and, more importantly, that they can bring it home to newborns, immunocompromised family members, grandpa and grandma, who may have weaker immune systems.

So we are going to see a trickle effect that not only impacts the children who are in the school system, but the teachers and the communities. That is why public health measures are in place, that we could start to see more viruses, more bacteria and more hospitalizations and more of a public health crisis here.