TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Health officials in Florida are ringing the alarm as confirmed measles cases continue to explode across the state.
This comes as Florida’s Department of Health (DOH) said it is considering removing mandatory vaccines.
Under the proposal, Florida would eliminate school-entry mandates for four vaccines: Hepatitis B, chickenpox, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal disease.
The state recently ended its efforts to expand the exemptions for moral and ethical beliefs after pushback, leaving medical and religious opt-outs only.
The rule still comes with a major shift by formally allowing parents to opt out of Florida’s shot-tracking database and removing combined MMR doses to push for single doses instead.
More Tallahassee news:
Florida currently has 148 measles cases after only having 47 combined cases from 2016 to 2025.
Dr. George Rust, a professor at Florida State University College of Medicine, explained what the future holds if this track continues.
“Unfortunately, we’re about to run a really horrible experiment,” Rust said. “Where we say, ‘What if we lifted it?’ and sadly we already know what that outcome is; we know because we know from history, people like me trained during a time when some of those vaccines weren’t being used, and children died. And children had horrible suffering and outcomes.”
The Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics warns that weakening the rules will weaken the herd community.
The DOH will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule changes Oct. 8 in Lake Mary, before deciding to formally adopt the rules.
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