Longtime allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, have initiated a new campaign aimed at repealing decades-old laws that mandate vaccinations for children against diseases like measles and polio before they can attend day care or kindergarten.
This recently formed alliance of vaccine activists is targeting crucial laws that serve as a cornerstone for protection against severe diseases. For generations, states have enforced compulsory childhood immunizations for school and day care enrollment, though some exemptions are currently available.
“What we need to do is freaking burst the dam open,” declared Leslie Manookian, a key figure behind Idaho’s medical mandate ban, during a recent call with supporters. “And that is what this year is all about, bursting the dam open in the states where we think it can happen first.”
Ms. Manookian leads the Medical Freedom Act Coalition, an umbrella organization comprising at least 15 nonprofit groups advocating for the elimination of state laws they label ‘medical mandates,’ which predominantly concern vaccines.
So far, legislative proposals have been introduced in at least nine states to remove all or most school vaccination requirements. These efforts range from Democratic strongholds like New York, where passage is unlikely, to states such as New Hampshire, Georgia, Iowa, and Idaho, where the proposals have gained some momentum.
Many proponents of vaccines see this state-level initiative as a dangerous second phase in undermining the nation’s immunization framework, following Mr. Kennedy’s significant reduction of federally recommended vaccines.
“This strategy, while not entirely unprecedented, reveals a sophisticated understanding of how to dismantle over a century of progress in safeguarding children from deadly pathogens,” noted Sara Rosenbaum, a health law professor emerita at George Washington University and former health official in the Clinton administration.
Ms. Rosenbaum added, “They’re emboldened by their perceived influence, having one of their own in the secretarial office of Health and Human Services. They believe this is their moment to push for an all-out repeal of all requirements.”
The new coalition includes Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit co-founded by Mr. Kennedy, alongside two other groups established to support his ‘MAHA’ (Make America Healthy Again) initiative. One of these, the MAHA Institute, focuses on state policy and is actively recruiting staff to advance its agenda.
Mr. Kennedy’s departure from long-established federal vaccine guidelines has spurred extensive activity at the state level. As his policies take root, some Democratic-leaning states are forming alliances to resist the new federal vaccine guidance, while several Republican-led states are moving to adopt it.
At a Heritage Foundation event this month featuring Mr. Kennedy, Kim Mack Rosenberg, general counsel for Children’s Health Defense, emphasized that a key priority would be to overturn state-level requirements.
“Ultimately, the goal is to remove mandates,” Ms. Mack Rosenberg stated.
She elaborated, “Especially when those mandates are linked to school attendance, it creates an incredibly challenging situation for families.”
When questioned at a Tennessee event recently about the push to repeal school-entry requirements, Mr. Kennedy denied direct involvement. However, he affirmed, “I believe in freedom of choice,” which was met with applause. He asserted his support for individuals making vaccine decisions in consultation with their families and physicians.
Ms. Manookian clarified that the coalition’s objective is to end what she perceives as coercion related to all medical interventions. “It’s about restoring power to the individual,” she stated in an interview.
Proposals to eliminate school vaccine requirements have seen varied outcomes, with some initiatives stalling in Oklahoma and Indiana, while others remain pending, including in West Virginia. A bill in Arizona is also awaiting consideration but is expected to face a veto from the Democratic governor, and a similar bill in New York is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled state legislature. Coalition supporters anticipate the introduction of a bill in Louisiana next month.
In Florida, despite state officials’ announced intention to end childhood vaccine mandates, no bill has been introduced to eliminate school-entry regulations. However, one proposal would introduce a “conscience” or personal-belief exemption, simplifying the process for parents to opt out of immunizations.
These efforts to overturn state laws have deeply concerned pediatricians and other vaccine advocates, who highlight the widespread acceptance among parents and the public for vaccinating young children.
Public health experts warn that eliminating school requirements would inevitably lead to decreased vaccine coverage, causing a rise in cases of measles and whooping cough, potentially followed by outbreaks of rubella and polio. The severe consequences are already evident in South Carolina, where a measles outbreak has infected over 900 individuals, with at least 19 hospitalized due to complications such as pneumonia and brain swelling.
At several schools in the outbreak’s epicenter, less than 80 percent of students had received all mandated childhood immunizations, significantly below the 95 percent threshold necessary to prevent the spread of highly contagious measles.
However, a strong deterrent against weakening immunization mandates has emerged: numerous polls indicate that voters would penalize lawmakers who support ending school requirements. A recent survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal, for instance, revealed that Democrats held a 9 percent advantage over Republicans regarding who is better equipped to handle vaccine policy.
Two additional polls, commissioned by vaccine proponents and carried out by Republican-affiliated firms, showed that voters in Florida and Tennessee would not back legislators seeking to abolish school vaccine mandates. One survey by Fabrizio Ward, a firm frequently used by President Trump, indicated that swing voters in competitive congressional races would subtract approximately 20 percentage points from a Republican candidate expressing skepticism about vaccines.
“Vaccine skepticism is bad politics,” the Fabrizio Ward memo concluded.
Despite these findings, vaccine advocates remain worried about proposals in New Hampshire, Iowa, Idaho, Georgia, and potentially other states that could severely restrict or entirely eliminate vaccine requirements for school entry.
“Before vaccines, one in five children did not survive to their fifth birthday,” stated Jennifer Herricks, advocacy director for American Families for Vaccines, a nonprofit partially funded by vaccine manufacturers. “These policies have been instrumental in protecting children when they are most vulnerable to these diseases.”
In New Hampshire, vaccine skeptics dominated a prolonged hearing on a bill that initially aimed to eliminate all school vaccine mandates but was later amended to retain the polio vaccine requirement. State health officials warned that the proposal would cause New Hampshire to violate federal grant conditions, costing the state millions of dollars used annually to immunize low-income children.
Megan Petty, chief of the New Hampshire Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, warned that if the bill passed, it could lead to “widespread uncontrolled illness.”
Idaho enacted a law in 2025 that broadly eliminated medical mandates for vaccines or other interventions, but it did not explicitly alter day care or school vaccine requirements, according to Ms. Manookian.
She confirmed her intention to support a new Idaho proposal that would specifically address these mandates. She noted that some Idaho school districts have maintained strict vaccine requirements despite the existing law’s general prohibition on medical mandates.
“The more that the schools and the day cares actually play parent and intrude,” she commented, “the more they’re actually harming themselves.”
In West Virginia, Republican lawmaker Chris Anders introduced a bill this month that would abolish school vaccination mandates, including the requirement for county health departments to provide free vaccinations to low-income children. He stated that other lawmakers are unlikely to advance the measure.
“If people decide not to be vaccinated, that is their choice,” he asserted. “Just like if they decide not to wear a seatbelt or a motorcycle helmet or anything else. If they decide that, they suffer the consequences.”
Last year in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott quietly signed legislation that permits lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers advertising in the state.
A federal law from 1986 established a special court, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, to handle vaccine-injury claims. Mr. Kennedy, who previously worked on a major lawsuit against a vaccine maker, has consistently criticized this special court, arguing that vaccine lawsuits should be easier to pursue.
In Florida, Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced last fall the state’s intention to end vaccine requirements. While no specific legislative proposal has emerged to achieve this, a scaled-back effort to modify state rules is progressing.
Florida officials are looking to eliminate the requirements for children to be vaccinated against varicella (chickenpox), hepatitis B, pneumococcal bacteria, and Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), which can lead to deadly conditions.
The state conducted a contentious hearing in December concerning this plan. Among those who testified was Jamie Schanbaum, who suffered amputations of her fingers and lower legs due to severe meningitis, a condition preventable by the pneumococcal vaccine. She has been a strong advocate for vaccination and urged Florida leaders in December to maintain their existing vaccine requirements.
“It’s very frustrating,” she expressed in an interview, “to witness and experience the current reality where our most prominent, most respected medical guidances are not being taken seriously.”
Emily Cochrane and Teddy Rosenbluth contributed reporting.