By James Oliphant

(Reuters) -Florida’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, announced plans on Wednesday to end all state vaccine mandates, including for children to attend schools, likening the mandates to “slavery.”

“Every last one of the them is wrong and drips with distain and slavery,” Ladapo said at a press conference in Tampa. “Who am I as a government or anyone else, or who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what to do with your body?”

Ladapo made the announcement backed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who made opposing COVID-19 mandates and precautions a central tenet of his first term in office.

All U.S. states have vaccine requirements to attend public schools with exceptions varying by state.

Vaccination rates for several diseases, including measles, dip

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