Statement on Vaccine Accessibility for Americans Living with Arthritis  

ATLANTA (Sept. 5, 2025) – As the nation’s children head back to school, lawmakers should do all they can to protect the health of citizens — especially the most vulnerable — by supporting critical access to health care, including vaccinations.   

As the leading organizations dedicated to improving the lives of those living with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases, the Arthritis Foundation and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) issue the following response to Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s announcement that the state will work to end all vaccine requirements — including school vaccine requirements:  

"The Arthritis Foundation and ACR are committed to improving access to preventive health care, including vaccines, to protect more than 3.9 million Florida residents and nearly 60 million in the U.S. living with doctor-diagnosed arthritis, including hundreds of thousands are children living with a juvenile form of the disease. Given this commitment, we wish to express our great concern regarding recent state government proposals on vaccine access and the dangers this could have for people living with rheumatic disease.  

Those living with chronic inflammatory or autoimmune diseases like arthritis face higher risks of infection and death from viruses than the general population. Viral infections and resulting complications can be significantly reduced or even entirely prevented by vaccination. Immunizations, like those for measles, mumps and rubella, are critical for children and adults living with chronic conditions to prevent outbreaks that cause hospitalizations, severe illness and increased rates of death. These vulnerable populations also rely on herd immunity to ensure protection from preventable diseases, which is why broad population vaccination is so important.   

We strongly encourage lawmakers to prioritize access to vaccines as a critical intervention to protect vulnerable populations, including children and adults living with arthritis. In the absence of scientifically based federal guidance on COVID-19 and flu vaccines for the 2025–2026 season, some states like Washington, Oregon and California have been forced to form their own public health alliance to make credible vaccine recommendations. While we applaud actions to ensure broad access to vaccines, vaccine recommendations should be led by the federal government to avoid confusion, patchwork state processes and delays in preventive care.  

Navigating a diagnosis like arthritis and autoimmune disease is difficult enough, and no child or parent should be restricted from accessing health care that can protect them from further complications. Lawmakers at every level of government should be focused on increasing access to health care, including vaccines, not limiting it. "