In 2009, my daughter Lawson, a vibrant, accomplished 18-year-old and an avid equestrian, went from what looked like a routine migraine to a life-threatening emergency in a matter of hours. She was healthy, athletic, preparing for college, and completely immersed in the world she loved.
When the dull headache she’d mentioned suddenly worsened, we rushed her to the hospital expecting she simply needed relief. Instead, as hours passed, her condition deteriorated with devastating speed. A spinal tap finally revealed meningitis, an infection that was already far ahead of us. Less than 36 hours after she first complained of a headache, my daughter was gone.
No parent should have to live through that kind of loss. It changes you forever. And it shapes how you think about prevention, protection, and public health. In the years since Lawson’s death, I have spoken often about the life-saving power of vaccines and the responsibility we all share to protect children from preventable illness.
That is why Florida’s long-standing school-entry vaccine requirements matter so deeply – and why Florida families should pay close attention to the policy debates happening this legislative session.
A new statewide poll found that 79% of Florida voters support keeping our current childhood vaccine requirements. That is nearly eight in 10 Floridians, across political parties, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and regions of the state. Only 17% oppose these protections. Strong majorities of Republicans, Democrats, independents, seniors, and Hispanic voters all agree: the safeguards that have protected children for generations should remain in place.
The poll also revealed something important about the moment we are in. Nearly three-quarters of voters worry that weakening vaccine standards could lead to new outbreaks of preventable diseases. Two-thirds say they would be less likely to support a legislator who votes to eliminate existing requirements. These concerns cross ideological lines because parents understand the stakes. They know that diseases we rarely see today, like measles, mumps, whooping cough, can spread quickly in communities where too few children are vaccinated.
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Today, policymakers are considering proposals to expand exemptions or weaken Florida’s reporting systems. As someone who has lived through the consequences of a preventable infection, I worry about what those changes would mean for infants too young to be fully vaccinated, for college students living in close quarters, and for immunocompromised children whose health depends on the decisions of those around them.
Florida already offers medical exemptions for children who cannot safely receive certain vaccines. Those exemptions are necessary and carefully managed. But broadening exemptions beyond medical or religious need risks leaving entire classrooms and campuses vulnerable. Vaccines work best when communities uphold their shared responsibility to prevent disease.
No vaccine can prevent every illness, and not every tragedy is avoidable. But childhood immunizations remain one of the most powerful tools we have to stop deadly diseases before they strike.
The polling could not be clearer: Floridians overwhelmingly support maintaining Florida’s school-entry vaccine requirements. They want stability in schools and childcare. They want lawmakers to listen to evidence, not politics. And they want to keep preventable diseases from becoming the next crisis families must navigate.
Lawson Mayfield died of bacterial meningitis in 2009.
My daughter’s story is the reason I continue to advocate for prevention. Not every illness can be avoided, but many can, and vaccines remain one of the strongest tools we have. Florida’s longstanding requirements reflect that simple truth. Maintaining them is the surest way to protect more children and more families in the years ahead.
Cathy Mayfield
Cathy Mayfield is a Tallahassee resident who lost her daughter, Lawson, to bacterial meningitis in 2009.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida’s vaccine safeguards should remain in place | Opinion