In the 2021-2022 school year, 91.7% of Florida students provided proof of immunization, the lowest for the state in a decade. The national average for the same year was 93%, according to the CDC.
Florida Surgeon General defies CDC as state sees increase in measles
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has come under scrutiny for defying federal guidance amid a measles outbreak in the state.
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A measles outbreak in Florida has gripped the state, with confirmed cases popping in two counties even as the state’s top doctor flouts federal health guidance.
Nine total cases have been confirmed across Broward and Polk counties, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Amidst the outbreak, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has contradicted medical guidance by telling parents they could decide whether or not to send their kids back to the schools with confirmed cases.
Ladapo has previously called for a halt to the COVID mRNA vaccines, which federal health officials have repeatedly said are safe and effective. Validating vaccine hesitancy has been a staple of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, and that hesitancy has trickled down to routine immunizations for schools, experts said.
Required immunization reporting for kindergarteners collected by the Florida Department of Health show the extent of that hesitancy over the last five years, as more kindergarteners go to school unvaccinated against measles.
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More: Map: See where measles cases are being reported across the US
Florida map shows waning immunization rates over 5 years
The county-specific data does not include the Florida Virtual School, where 83.8% of the 681 students provided proof of vaccination. The report also warns about some limitations of the data caused by outliers and incomplete data collection from private schools. Florida Department of Health did not immediately provide an update on data from the 2022-2023 school year.
Florida reports falling vaccine rates in school kids
Florida students in kindergarten through sixth grade are required to submit a form certifying they have the required vaccines, including two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot.
The percentage of kindergarten students who submitted the form fell to 91.7% in the 2021 to 2022 school year, according to a Florida Department of Public Health report. That’s lower than the national average, 93%, for the same year, and lower than the average in Florida five years prior, which came in at 94.1%.
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It was the lowest rate since the 2010-2011 school year, the report stated, citing the pandemic as playing a “significant role” in the drop. The coverage goal is 95%, which just more than a quarter of counties met or exceeded in 2021-2022.
Children who do not submit the form must have an exemption on file: either a temporary medical exemption, a permanent medical exemption or a religious exemption. More than 3% of students claimed a religious exemption in the 2021-2022 school year, the highest ever, the report stated.
35 measles cases reported in 15 states nationwide
Measles cases have been popping up around the country amid dropping rates of vaccination. The national vaccination average for kindergarteners has dropped approximately two percentage points since before the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 35 total cases this year in 15 states as of Feb. 22:
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Missouri
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Washington
In 2023, there were 58 total cases, according to the CDC.
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Contributing: Ken Alltucker, Zac Anderson, John Kennedy, Eduardo Cuevas USA TODAY Network
Tharin White, Lead Publisher at EYNTK.info and Drew Smith, Drew the Disney Dude join FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to showcase the World Cup celebrations at LegoLand Florida, plus the Electric Ocean show taking off at SeaWorld Orlando.
Florida Highway Patrol Logo (WJXT, Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)
FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – A 21-year-old Fernandina Beach man is dead following a crash on State Road A1A in Nassau County Thursday night.
The Florida Highway Patrol responded to the scene at South Fletcher Avenue and Askins Avenue around 9:30 p.m.
According to FHP, the motorcyclist was traveling northbound on S. Fletcher Ave. when he struck an unoccupied sport utility vehicle that was stopped perpendicular to the roadway in the northbound lane. Troopers say the SUV’s driver had exited the vehicle to unhitch a trailer at the time of the crash.
The front of the motorcycle collided with the left side of the SUV. The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, according to the report.
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FHP pronounced the motorcycle rider dead at the scene. The SUV driver was not injured.
The crash remains under investigation.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
Florida health officials are pushing back at quarantine guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius exposed to the deadly Andes hantavirus.
One American who was on the cruise ship says she’s stuck in the middle and unable to leave federal quarantine.
“I’m being held hostage in this power struggle between a state and the federal government,” said Angela Perryman, 47, who has been at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit since May 11.
“I don’t think there has been a day since I’ve been here that I didn’t cry,” she said.
Perryman said that health officials previously told passengers that they would be able to leave federal quarantine by the end of May and spend the rest of their 42-day quarantine under home supervision. The first five went home June 1.
Like all Americans aboard the cruise ship, Perryman has tested negative for the Andes virus.
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Angela Perryman, seen here on an excursion from the MV Hondius, said she hasn’t been able to go a day without crying since she disembarked.Courtesy Angela Perryman
States were required by the CDC to station law enforcement or public health employees outside the homes of quarantined passengers for surveillance.
It was up to state health departments to figure out how to accomplish that for passengers who chose to go home.
Florida health officials, it appears, have a different approach.
“At this time, neither the state of Florida nor the Department is planning to implement round-the-clock surveillance measures,” Brian Wright, a spokesman for the Florida Health Department, said in an email. “The state does not believe unnecessarily intrusive restrictions are warranted when established public health practices can effectively protect both public health and personal freedom.”
The agency, which didn’t provide an official response, has named Dr. David Fitter to lead its response under the temporary leadership of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who has criticized the CDC’s restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Perryman, a Florida native, is one of 18 Americans who were on the Hondius when the rare hantavirus outbreak struck in May. They were taken to the Nebraska unit, where some of the first Covid patients who’d been aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in early 2020, as well as several Ebola patients in 2014, were treated.
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As of Thursday, 10 of the Hondius passengers have left the federal facility and are now under surveillance in their home states, until the end of the virus’s full 42-day quarantine period, set to end June 22, a University of Nebraska Medical Center spokesperson confirmed.
The passengers’ trips home were coordinated by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, as well as local and state health departments.
The Hondius off the port of Praia, Cape Verde, on May 5.AFP via Getty Images file
“The individuals did not travel commercially, and appropriate biocontainment measures were in place during their transport,” the medical center said in a statement.
Eight passengers, including Perryman, remain in Nebraska. The only other passenger still in Nebraska who has spoken publicly about the ordeal is Jake Rosmarin, who’s posted about his time in quarantine on Instagram.
Generally, the virus is spread from rodents to people. The Andes strain is the only one known to spread from person to person.
The World Health Organization confirmed 13 cases of Andes virus associated with the cruise ship, and three people have died. None of the Americans have developed symptoms.
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That fatality rate — 23% — is one of the reasons health officials have been particularly focused on keeping any potential for viral spread contained. And the incubation period is exceptionally long. It can take up to six weeks for symptoms of hantavirus to appear.
Perryman said that all she wants to do is walk into her yard and take photos of birds and bugs.
“I want to go home,” she said, “and stay in my house and have no contact with anyone.”
