FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24,2026
Following the Florida Department of Health’s publication of a Notice of Proposed Rule for Rule 64D-3.046, please see below for statements from pediatricians, family physicians, infectious disease experts, parents, and community leaders across the state.
The proposed rule would remove school requirements for Hib, hepatitis B, varicella, and pneumococcal disease and broaden the state’s religious exemption language to include “moral or ethical beliefs.” The formal notice opens a 21-day period for public comment and requests for a public hearing.
Many of the voices below participated when the Department first considered changes to Florida’s school immunization rules last year. Their concerns come amid renewed attention to vaccine policy, declining childhood vaccination coverage, and continued measles outbreak in Florida.
Florida voters have also remained consistent on the issue. Nearly 8 in 10 support maintaining the state’s long-standing school vaccine safeguards, a level of support that held essentially unchanged across statewide surveys this year.
Rana Alissa, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, board-certified pediatrician, and President of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
“Florida now ranks fifth in the nation for measles cases, a reminder that vaccine-preventable diseases can return when vaccination coverage falls. The proposed rule would remove school vaccine requirements for Hib, hepatitis B, varicella and pneumococcal disease, increasing the risk that these preventable illnesses spread in our schools and communities. Pediatricians have been clear that widespread childhood immunization helps keep children healthy and protects those who are most vulnerable. We urge the Department to preserve the safeguards that have protected Florida’s children and families for decades.”
Danielle Carter, M.D., President of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians
“As family physicians, we know how quickly changes in policy can create confusion for parents about what their children actually need. Changing a school requirement does not change the clinical evidence physicians use to recommend vaccination, and neither does it change the need to protect newborns, cancer patients and others who may be more vulnerable to serious illness. Families deserve clear guidance grounded in medical evidence, and that is what physicians will continue to provide.”
Kas Miller, Tampa-based parent and Director of Florida Families for Vaccines
“Nearly 8 in 10 Florida voters support keeping our long-standing school vaccine safeguards, and that pro-vaccine consensus was visible at the Department’s December workshop, where parents, physicians and public health experts raised evidence-based concerns about weakening protections for children. The ongoing measles outbreak only underscores those concerns. Now that formal rulemaking is moving forward, Floridians will again submit comments, request a public hearing and make our voices heard. We hope the Department listens and preserves the safeguards that have protected Florida children for generations.”
Cathy Mayfield, Founder of Run for Lawson and a Tallahassee parent who lost her 18-year-old daughter, Lawson, to meningitis in 2009
“My daughter Lawson went from being a healthy, vibrant 18-year-old to fighting for her life in a matter of hours. We lost her within 36 hours. That is why I am deeply troubled by a proposal that would expand exemptions beyond religion to include broad moral or ethical beliefs. For families like mine, that is not an abstract policy change. It means more children could be left unprotected from diseases we know how to prevent. We should be making it easier to protect children, not easier to opt out of those protections.”
Julio Fuentes, President & CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
“Healthy children, reliable schools and stable childcare are essential to Florida’s workforce and economy. A Florida-specific economic analysis projected that weakening childhood vaccine safeguards could reduce state GDP by $74 million in the first year and nearly $9 billion over a decade, with nearly 65,000 fewer jobs. Those are significant potential consequences for working families and businesses, and they deserve to be fully considered as this rule moves forward. Florida’s economic success depends on the stability and predictability these safeguards help provide.”
Jude Bruno, President of the Florida PTA
“Florida parents want their children healthy, in school and ready to learn. Long-standing vaccine safeguards help schools provide the safe, stable environment families depend on. Broadening exemptions while removing existing vaccine requirements could mean more unvaccinated children in classrooms and more uncertainty for families and schools. Parents deserve a meaningful voice in decisions this significant, and we hope the state preserves the protections that have served Florida families for generations.”
Jennifer Herricks, Ph.D., Advocacy Director of American Families for Vaccines
“The renewed federal debate around childhood vaccines has created a lot of noise, but it has not changed what we hear from families across the country. Parents overwhelmingly support routine vaccination and want clear, evidence-based guidance they can trust. As Florida moves forward with this rulemaking, that broader consensus should not be ignored. Florida parents are part of the same national majority, and they deserve protections that preserve the progress vaccines have made possible.”
