Florida kindergartners lead Southeast in vaccine opt-outs
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The new school year is bringing more ambivalence and confusion over children's vaccines, with shifting policies under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and lingering skepticism leading more parents to opt out.
Why it matters: The number of kindergartners in Florida with non-medical vaccine exemptions rose this year, part of a national retreat from routine vaccination that coincides with the worst measles outbreak in 30 years.
State of play: Clinicians say moves like Kennedy's decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy kids have emboldened some parents to question the effectiveness and safety of a range of shots.
- Some pediatricians offices and even children's health systems have begun weighing whether to keep unvaccinated patients on their rosters.
- "It's gotten so bad that you're concerned about the waiting room with a lot of children who are unvaccinated," says Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "That's a risk, not only to them, but the children they come in contact with."
By the numbers: The CDC estimates that 4.8% of kindergartners in Florida skipped the required vaccines in the 2024–25 school year using a non-medical exemption.
- That's more than double the 1.8% rate in 2014–15, and it's the highest in the Southeast.
- Florida logged 10,556 non-medical exemptions, the second-highest total after Texas with 15,207.
How it works: In Florida, a parent can obtain a religious exemption for their child by visiting the county's health department.
- No appointment is needed, and no questions are asked, per the state Department of Health.
Zoom out: Vaccine hesitancy isn't a new phenomenon: Kindergarten exemptions from one or more vaccines grew in 36 states and the District of Columbia during the 2024-2025 school year.
- But pediatricians report they've been facing far more questions and concerns prompted by shifting federal policies.