Tampa Bay's measles vaccinations fall short
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Tampa Bay counties don't meet the herd immunity threshold for measles, according to recent data collected and analyzed by the Washington Post.
Why it matters: That threshold (at least 95%) is the vaccination rate multiple public health authorities say is necessary to contain the virus's spread.
- Measles is highly contagious and can lead to severe illnesses such as pneumonia or encephalitis and, in some cases, death.
Driving the news: Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo vowed last year to end vaccine mandates in Florida, but he could only end those not written into state statute; any others would require action by the Legislature.
- State law requires schoolchildren to be vaccinated against polio, diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, mumps and tetanus.
- The Legislature has not yet moved to repeal those requirements, although a bill filed in December would require practitioners to inform parents of the risks of vaccines and not refuse patients for lack of them.
Between the lines: There are already ways for parents to skirt the vaccine mandates.
- 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.
- The state logged 10,556 non-medical exemptions in the 2024–25 school year, the second-highest total after Texas with 15,207, per the CDC.
Zoom in: Sarasota and Hillsborough counties had the lowest measles vaccination rates among kindergartners in Tampa Bay, at 79.9% and 86%, respectively.
- Pasco (91.9%) and Citrus (90.8%) counties had the highest percentages of kindergartners in the region vaccinated against measles, although both sit below the herd immunity threshold.
- Other area kindergartner vaccination rates against the measles: 89.8% in Manatee County, 89% in Hernando County and 87.3% in Pinellas County.
Threat level: Those fully vaccinated with the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) immunization are 98% protected and unlikely to contract measles, according to the state Department of Health.
- The department wrote that when 10 people without immunity are exposed to measles, as many as nine are likely to become infected.