Pediatrician groups oppose ending vaccine requirements for school children in Florida

In a joint statement Friday, the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics said ending vaccine requirements for school children “will put children’s health at risk and negatively impact Florida’s communities.”

“The ripple effect of removing vaccine entry requirements would affect all of us, not just those with children in school,” said FCAAP President Rana Alissa.

“Infants, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems would be at much higher risk,” Alissa said. “Our state’s theme parks, grocery stores, movie theaters, sports arenas, and the waiting rooms in doctor’s offices and hospitals will all become places for contagious disease to spread easily — making every outing or gathering a risk.”

READ MORE: Florida’s vaccine mandate removal: What it means for public health

The pediatrician groups were responding to Wednesday’s announcement by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo to make Florida the first state to remove school vaccine mandates.

Ladapo said the state Health Department would take steps to eliminate the mandates, calling them “immoral” intrusions that hamper parents’ ability to make health decisions for their children.

The two pediatrician groups argue that state law allows parents to exempt their children from the school vaccine requirements, but that ending them “only creates confusion and increases the risk for widespread disease.”

They note most kindergartners in Florida — 89% — were vaccinated for the previous school year. But that the percentage was below the 93% national average and below the 95% immunization threshold to achieve widespread community immunity from the most infectious diseases like measles.

AAP President Susan J. Kressly, also a Florida resident, warns that schools may have to close in the future because “when illness spreads in the classroom, nobody is spared.”

“In peak flu seasons, schools have had to close to stop the spread,” she said. “This could become a routine occurrence in Florida with the removal of school immunization requirements.”

Since the first safe and effective polio vaccine was released for use in the U.S. in 1955, vaccines have become a cornerstone of public health, keeping schoolchildren and adults safe from infectious diseases that had afflicted populations for centuries.