Florida Shatters Precedent: First State to Eliminate All Vaccine Mandates—Including Schools
Florida just rewrote the rulebook on public health policy—and Wall Street is taking notes.
Governor Ron DeSantis signs landmark legislation ending all COVID-19 vaccine requirements statewide, making Florida the first to scrap mandates for schools, businesses, and government entities. The move sends shockwaves through pharmaceutical stocks as PFE, MRK, and LLY face potential demand recalibration.
Investors scramble as regulatory certainty evaporates overnight. The Sunshine State’s bold play could trigger domino effects across red-state America—because nothing says 'economic freedom' like letting influenza season run wild in elementary schools.
Pharma giants brace for impact while libertarians cheer. Another day, another regulatory gamble—because who needs public health consistency when you’ve got political theater?
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The MOVE was announced by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who is a prominent immunization and vaccine critic. The decision is being called a blow to both public health and U.S. pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer (PFE), Merck & Co. (MRK), and Eli Lilly (LLY).
Florida now becomes the first American state to withdraw from requirements that are credited with increasing vaccination rates and preventing outbreaks of infectious diseases. The rollback in Florida could result in fewer school children getting immunized against deadly diseases such as polio and measles, say healthcare professionals.
A Blow to Big Pharma
Until now, all U.S. states had vaccine requirements to attend public schools. Florida is among the states that already allow parents to object to vaccines on religious grounds. In announcing the cancelation of vaccine mandates, Ladapo likened them to “slavery.” The Florida Surgeon General has long stoked fears about vaccines and claimed that Covid-19 shots can contaminate a person’s DNA.
Despite those claims, and other conspiracies, vaccines are credited with saving the lives of 1.1 million children in the U.S. and saving Americans $540 billion in healthcare costs over the last 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The change in Florida fits with the agenda of federal Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who has said that he wants to change vaccine policies in the U.S.
Is LLY Stock a Buy?
The stock of Eli Lilly has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 22 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 16 Buy and six Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average LLY price target of $904.76 implies 24% upside from current levels.
