Florida Surgeon General Allows Unvaccinated Kids to Attend School With Measles Outbreak

Unvaccinated students from schools with measles outbreak are usually recommended to stay at home for some time.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo in Clearwater, Fla., on Oct. 15, 2022. York Du/The Epoch Times

Florida’s health department is allowing children unvaccinated against measles to attend a school where an outbreak has been registered, pointing out the high rate of immunity in the community.

Six students from Florida’s Manatee Bay Elementary School, Weston, have contracted measles. On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) released a letter from Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, dismissing the need to quarantine children at homes.

When measles is detected at schools, it is “normally recommended that individuals without history of prior infection or vaccination stay home for up to 21 days. This is the period of time that the virus can be transmitted,” the letter said, addressing parents and guardians.

“However, due to the high immunity rate in the community, as well as the burden on families and educational cost of healthy children missing school, DOH is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Florida DOH-Broward said in a press release that it was working to identify contacts at risk of transmission. Measles is a “highly contagious” disease and can remain infectious in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours, it said.

The most prominent symptom of measles is a rash that typically develops on the face and neck, which can then spread to the rest of the body. Prior to the rash, some of the symptoms include red, watery eyes, runny nose, cough, and high fever.

Individuals who have received the full series of measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) immunization are “98 percent protected and are highly unlikely to contract measles,” Florida DOH-Broward said.

“Susceptible contacts at risk include those that are immunocompromised and/or those who have not received a full series of the MMR immunization.”

The department asked people who notice symptoms of measles to contact their health care providers for instructions on seeking safe medical attention without exposing the infection to other people.

“Do not abruptly visit DOH-Broward or your health care provider without contacting them ahead of time,” the agency stated.

In his letter, Dr. Ladapo asked parents to watch their children for signs and symptoms of measles as they may have been already exposed. Children who present symptoms “should not attend school until symptoms have fully subsided without medication,” he stated.

The surgeon general pointed out that up to 90 percent of individuals who do not have immunity against measles will end up contracting the infection if exposed. Measles can be transmitted four days before the symptoms begin.

‘Unnecessary Gamble’

In an interview with health care outlet STAT, Jason Schwartz, an associate professor of health policy at the Yale School of Public Health, criticized Dr. Ladapo’s guidance. “This is pretty stunning public health guidance to get from a state health commissioner in 2024.”

“Measles has been rightly feared for generations, and remained at least until recently rightly feared,” he said. “It’s an unnecessary gamble to play the odds when we have a remarkably effective, remarkably safe vaccine.”

However, cardiologist Peter A. McCullough questions the effectiveness of measles jabs. “Measles vaccine is only partially effective at best. Measles outbreaks have always involved fully vaccinated cases,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, last year while citing a 2016 review of these vaccines.

The review looked at published literature on the vaccines and found that out of the 1,416 measles cases in the multiple studies, 43.2 percent happened among vaccinated people, Dr. McCullough noted.

Measles in School

Parents of children studying at the Manatee Bay Elementary School have the option of educating their kids at home. Children will receive assignments but will not come into contact with teachers.

“It is safe, and I walked the campus. But for those staying home, we’re going to try and individualize it. It will not be virtual,” Broward Superintendent Peter Licata told CBS. Mr. Licata visited the school campus to reassure students, parents, and staff about the measles outbreak.

“We are not allowed to keep children from coming to school. But if the state feels that’s in the best interest, they'll deem that as a state of emergency for the school and be able to keep students that are not vaccinated from the school, but that’s their decision. We don’t have that authority.”

According to school administrators, 200 students did not attend classes on Tuesday. This dropped slightly to 174 students on Wednesday. A total of 33 students in the school are unvaccinated against measles.

“It’s a challenging time, as we know. One to ensure that all of our kids are getting what they need educationally, but also making sure that the parents know that the school is clean,” said board member Torey Alston.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a total of 20 measles cases have been reported from 11 jurisdictions across the United States in 2024 as of Feb. 15. The infection can result in “severe complications in children and adults,” it warned.

“Some people may suffer from severe complications, such as pneumonia (infection of the lungs) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). They may need to be hospitalized and could die.”

The CDC estimated that roughly one in five unvaccinated people in the United States who get measles will get hospitalized. As many as one in 20 children with measles end up getting pneumonia, “the most common cause of death from measles in young children.”

In addition, around 1 in 1,000 children who contract measles develop encephalitis, which can cause deafness or intellectual disability.

“Nearly 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications,” the CDC said.