Florida measles cases surge ahead of new school year
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Florida has reported more than 100 measles cases amid a nationwide outbreak that has pushed infections to their highest level in 35 years.
Why it matters: The state has the nation's fourth-highest measles case count as schools prepare to reopen next month, raising concerns about further spread after vaccination rates fell below the herd immunity threshold.
- During a 2024 measles outbreak, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo declined to urge parents to keep unvaccinated children home from school.
Driving the news: The state Department of Health recorded 155 cases of measles between Jan. 1 and July 18.
- Sixteen of them were in the Tampa Bay area: Pinellas County identified six cases; Hillsborough, Manatee and Pasco counties each recorded three; and Polk County recorded one.
- Nineteen of the state's cases were in children younger than 10.
Between the lines: About 88% of kindergartners entering the 2024–25 school year in Florida were vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella — below the herd immunity threshold, according to the CDC.
- Hillsborough and Pinellas counties fell below the state average, with MMR vaccination rates of 86% and 87%, respectively.
Threat level: The state Department of Health wrote that when 10 people without immunity are exposed to measles, as many as nine are likely to become infected.
- Measles symptoms include a cough, high fever and a telltale rash, but can escalate into complications such as severe ear infections, pneumonia and encephalitis or inflammation of the brain that can lead to permanent brain damage and even death, per Johns Hopkins Medicine.
- On average, measles kills between 1 and 3 of every 1,000 infected children.
Between the lines: The outbreak comes at a time when a number of key top government health positions remain vacant, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initially downplayed the virus' threat.
- In Florida, Ladapo has long taken positions at odds with mainstream vaccination guidance. Last year, he sought unsuccessfully to end the state's vaccine mandates, likening them to "slavery."