NEW YORK -- The US state of Florida on Wednesday announced plans to end all state vaccine mandates, including for school children, making it the first state in the nation to do so.

Florida State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said at a press conference that current vaccine requirements in schools hamper parents' ability to make health decisions for their children.

The move would make Florida the first state in the United States to completely withdraw from a practice credited with increasing vaccination rates and lowering the risk of infectious diseases spreading.

The announcement drew immediate criticism from public health experts and officials.

"Ending vaccine mandates is reckless and dangerous," said Democratic Representative Anna Eskamani on the social media platform X, adding that it could cause outbreaks of preventable disease. "This is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State."

"This is ridiculous. Florida already has broad medical and religious exemptions for childhood vaccines, so any family that has a sincere opposition to vaccination can opt out," Florida Senate Democratic leader Lori Berman said in a statement.

"We can expect that measles will come roaring back," Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Washington Post. "Other infectious diseases will follow. This is an unprecedented move that will only put our children at unnecessary risk."