BRADENTON— Lt. Governor Jay Collins is standing with Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Jay Ladapo in supporting the state's newly minted Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, saying that the commission he and First Lady Casey DeSantis sit on is focused on informing the public what they are putting into their bodies, namely, food and immunizations.
"It comes down to parental rights and understanding what's going on in people's bodies, whether it's food. Whether it is immunizations. things like that," said Lt. Gov Collins in an interview with The Floridian. " We want people to be armed with information."
Lt. Gov. Collins said that Floridians already can use their "religion or health consequences or anything else to get a deviated schedule or deviated approval to not get an immunization."
Collins spoke about the struggles he and his wife went through with one of their sons just a few years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that they had to improvise on how they addressed their son's immunizations.
"Our son went through many difficulties health-wise early on. It was a real struggle, and we had to do a shifted approach to his immunizations, we went a little bit slower because every time he got one, man it was tough— his face would blow up, and he was so sick and his immune system was out of control and he would end up throwing up more and more and more," said Collins. "As a parent, this was heartbreaking, but then what made it hard, especially during COVID, was that we wouldn't give him the COVID jab, we just they see the value for his age demographic. We couldn't go see a pediatrician; we had to travel all over the country and try to go find someplace to go make sure that he was doing OK, just to get his basic care."
“The reason is because parents are provided information, and they’re not being coerced,” DeSantis said. “I think when given accurate information, I think they’re going to do what’s best for their kids.”
But while Collins and Gov. DeSantis continue to for more parental rights and control over immunizations, President Donald Trump has questioned the perceived anti-vaccine, anti-immunization initiative.
“I think those vaccines should be used,” Trump told reporters shortly after DeSantis and Ladapo announced their MAHA initiative. “Otherwise, some people are going to catch it and they are going to endanger other people.”
DeSantis and Ladapo argue that MAHA is not looking to completely ban vaccines, but rather leave the decision to parents on whether or not to vaccinate or immunize their children.
Meanwhile, there has been an outbreak of Measles in Texas and in other states. The Florida Department of Health currently requires that children be immunized for Measles-Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
Here are all the required vaccines and immunizations in Florida.
