Florida is ending vaccine mandates. What do Canadian travellers need to know?

With its sunny weather, sandy beaches and amusement parks, Florida draws millions of visitors each year, including 3.4 million Canadians in 2024, according to the state’s last count. 

But in light of its plan to end vaccine mandates, doctors say visitors should be vigilant about diseases like measles, whooping cough and polio before visiting the Sunshine State.

The move, announced by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has been widely panned by health organizations. 

The Canadian Medical Association and the American Medical Association are calling on Florida to reverse its plan, saying childhood vaccines prevent illness and save lives. CBC News asked doctors what Canadians should know before flying south. 

‘Asking for trouble’ 

Florida has always had a risk of vaccine-preventable diseases because of its attractions that draw people from all over the world — including from countries that have low vaccination rates, says Michael Musczynski, a pediatric infectious disease expert and a professor emeritus at Florida State University’s College of Medicine.

“With places like Disney World and other attractions in central Florida, in the Orlando area specifically, we have people coming from all over,” he said. 

But now, the fear is that fewer local kids will get protected against those diseases, making outbreaks more likely, more frequent and more widespread, he says. 

Mixing those visitors with locals who have low vaccination rates is “asking for trouble,” he said. 

The number of Canadians visiting Florida has already likely dwindled this year. Many are boycotting the U.S. because of the trade war and threats of annexation. Some snowbirds — retired Canadians who spend the winter there — have also started selling their properties. 

Muszynski says the plan to end vaccine mandates for kids could deter more Canadians from visiting. 

Check you are up-to-date on vaccines 

You “don’t need a crystal ball” to see the outcome of such policies, said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto’s General Hospital. 

“It’s more likely that there will be more frequent and larger outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses.”

He says visitors to Florida should check, before travelling, what kind of infectious diseases they might be exposed to, and to make sure those vaccinations are up to date. 

The necessary vaccinations may differ depending on age, the risk level and other factors, he says. 

If your shots are up to date, the risk of getting sick from diseases like measles, whooping cough and polio is negligible, Bogoch says. 

Dr. Alison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist in Toronto’s Sinai Health system agrees. 

She doesn’t think travellers to Florida need to change their plans just yet. But she does worry about the growing misinformation about vaccines in the U.S.

“At least at the moment, whatever additional risk in Florida is small enough that it probably shouldn’t have… an impact,” she said. 

“Five or six years from now, if things continue to get worse, then you might want to worry.” 

‘Sheer unadulterated craziness’

Bogoch worries that Florida’s officials are sowing doubt about vaccines.

“These policies cast doubt on the reliability of input from public health agencies, and they can undermine decades and decades of trust,” he said.

“You’re already starting to see groups aligned with anti-vaccine and anti-science stances celebrating policies like this, and I think that’s obviously problematic.”

That kind of misinformation is already bleeding across the U.S.-Canada border, Bogoch says. 

McGeer says it’s crucial that Canadian politicians don’t start taking cues from Florida.

“We [should] recognize that what’s going on in the United States is just sheer unadulterated craziness, and that children will die in the U.S. because of the decisions people are making,” she said. 

“We would be stupid to follow along.”