At meeting on Florida's plan to end school vaccine mandates, skeptics and doctors stand off

Read the full story at NBC News

By: Aria Bendix

The heated debate over Florida’s plan to revoke some school vaccine mandates was on full display Friday when state officials held a meeting for the public to weigh in on the proposed changes.

The current plan, according to officials at the Florida Department of Health, is to eliminate requirements that children be vaccinated against hepatitis B, chickenpox and haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) in order to attend private or public schools in the state, including prekindergarten. Admission to day cares would not require those vaccines, either, nor the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. There is no set timeline yet for when the changes will be implemented.

The meeting, held at a small conference room in Panama City Beach, Florida, showcased the ever-widening gulf between pediatricians and opponents of vaccines, some of whom used their moments at the microphone to voice outlandish conspiracy theories and misinformation.