A House Republican is charging back into a continuing fight over vaccines and doctors that created a huge rift during last year’s Legislative Session.

Rep. Jeff Holcomb late last month filed HB 917, a proposal that takes aim at doctors who refuse to treat patients based on their vaccination schedule while also delving into other contentious health care treatment disputes.

The administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis backed a similar bill last year championed by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary and State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Ladapo, but the vaccine provision was stripped from the bill.

In an email to the Florida Phoenix, Holcomb said he “feels strongly” the bill will pass this year.

“We saw during the COVID pandemic that medical decisions were made without proper safety measures. We have a similar situation with the childhood vaccine schedule. The vaccines our children are mandated to have do not have sufficient safety studies. This was confirmed yesterday with CDC shrinking the recommended childhood vaccine schedule,” he said, referencing the decision Monday to shrink the recommended number of childhood vaccines from 17 to 11.

Holcomb’s bill doesn’t eliminate any vaccine mandate now in Florida statute or rule.

The bill does amend Florida’s Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities to make clear that a health care provider or facility cannot discriminate against a patient based upon the patient’s vaccination status.

Additionally, Holcomb’s bill would add “vaccine status” to the list of reasons protected in law why patients cannot be discriminated against. That list now includes race, national origin, handicap and source of payment.

The bill would allow DOH or the appropriate licensing board to discipline providers who discriminate against patients based on vaccine status. The penalties in law vary from restricting, suspending or revoking a license to imposing administrative fines, or both.

Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics President Rana Alissa, a Jacksonville physician, said the association does not support HB 917.

“When you have somebody that is unvaccinated and coming with fever, what if that patient has measles? If they are going to come and be in the waiting room with people who have leukemia, or for any reason they do have a lower immune system, they are going to expose them to measles,” Alissa said.

Physician’s offices aren’t designed to safely accommodate unvaccinated patients, she said.

“You have to change the way clinics are built. You have to have a different waiting room, you have to have a different stairs, you have to have a different elevator. You have to have negative-pressure rooms to accommodate these unvaccinated kids when they have signs and symptoms of the illness,” she said.

“You want to force them to take unvaccinated kids? Then you have to help them reconstruct their clinics and you have to basically accommodate them accordingly.”

The language is identical to what the DeSantis administration pushed for last year in a far-reaching bill that addressed an array of DOH-related issues, from background screening requirements for staff at medical marijuana treatment centers to physician licensure requirements.

While HB 1299 ultimately passed and was signed by the Governor, it didn’t contain the anti-discrimination language the DeSantis administration wanted.

Another vaccine-related provision in HB 917 left over from the 2025 Session addresses messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines.

The Legislature in 2023 passed a law that banned governmental entities, business establishments and educational institutions from discriminating against someone based on mRNA vaccination status. Essentially, the law banned the use of vaccine passports in Florida. But it was valid only through June 2025.

The DeSantis administration tried unsuccessfully last year to make the ban permanent in HB 1299, but the Legislature refused to go along. Lawmakers did agree, however, to extend the ban through June 2027. HB 917 would make the ban permanent.

DeSantis in September criticized the Legislature for refusing to go along with his health-care proposals. Specifically regarding the mRNA provisions, DeSantis said: “That’s got to be made permanent. I mean, everyone is glad that we did that. Even the far left, I don’t hear them, at least publicly they won’t admit they’re for vaccine passports. It doesn’t make sense. So, they need to do that.”

The Governor and Ladapo said over the Summer that they want to eliminate all vaccine mandates from Florida statutes. That would require legislative buy-in that isn’t clear the Governor and Ladapo, his state health czar, can expect.

In the meantime, DOH has proposed changing its rules regarding vaccine requirements for school and day care, specifically removing requirements for children to receive the hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), and haemophilus influenza B, or Hib, vaccine. DOH is proposing to also eliminate those vaccines, along with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for admission to a licensed day care facility.

It held a lengthy public meeting on the proposed rule changes in December.

Vaccines maintained, disclosure added

HB 917 wouldn’t eliminate any vaccine mandate from statute. But the legislation would require every licensed health care provider authorized to vaccinate children to advise parents and legal guardians of the “unique risks, benefits, safety, and efficacy of each vaccine included on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule.”

Holcomb’s bill would require health care providers to give parents and legal guardians the option of following “alternative vaccination schedules that may consist of not more than one injection or oral administration at each encounter.”

Parent and legal guardians would be required to sign a document attesting they have been provided the requisite immunization information.

Behind-the-counter ivermectin

HB 917 would authorize pharmacists to sell ivermectin “behind the counter.”

Ivermectin is an effective treatment for parasites in animals and for use by humans to treat parasites such as head lice and scabies, according to the National Institutes of Health. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin for treatment or prevention of COVID, and so far recommends against taking it for COVID, instead suggesting people get vaccinated for protection.

Nevertheless, there was buzz during the pandemic about using it for treatment for COVID.

HB 917 provides pharmacists who sell ivermectin from behind the counter with immunity from civil and criminal liability as well as disciplinary protections.

Specifically, HB 917 would authorize pharmacists to provide ivermectin to patients and customers as long as the pharmacist provides written information about the indications and contraindications of the use of ivermectin and the appropriate dosage for using ivermectin. The information must advise the person to seek follow up care from a primary care physician.

There is no age restriction in HB 917 for the purchase of ivermectin. Holcomb has also filed HB 29, to legalize over-the-counter sale of ivermectin. That means it wouldn’t be limited but freely accessible.

HB 29 has been referred to three House committees. There is no Senate companion.