Florida official defers to parents on if kids should return to school amid measles cluster
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on Tuesday said that parents and guardians should be the ones deciding whether their children will continue attending classes as the sixth case of measles has been confirmed at a Broward County elementary school.
All the cases thus far have been reported at Manatee Bay Elementary School, a K-5 school located at 19200 Manatee Isles Drive in Weston.
Although measles is highly contagious among those lacking immunity, Ladapo released a statement Tuesday night saying the Florida Department of Health is deferring to parents and guardians to choose if their children are safe to keep going to classes in the face of what health officials are calling a “cluster of measles cases” at the school.
READ MORE: Three more measles cases reported in Broward school, district says. Here’s what to know
Ladapo cited the “high immunity rate in the community” and “the burden on families and educational cost of healthy children missing school” as his reasons for making the recommendation.
While the exact number of Broward County Public Schools’ students who have received the full series of measles, mumps and rubella immunizations was not immediately available, the state rate is 91%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Individuals with a history of prior infection or vaccination who have received the full series of the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) immunization are 98% protected and are unlikely to contract measles,” Ladapo wrote in the Feb. 20 statement.
He noted, conversely, that up to 90% of those lacking immunization “will contract measles if exposed.” If someone in a household contracted measles, everyone in the home should consider themselves exposed and monitor symptoms, according to the health department.
Symptoms of the measles includes a rash that often develops on the face and neck before spreading to the rest of the body, a high fever, cough, runny nose and red watery eyes.
All children presenting with symptoms should not go back to school until they fully subside without medication, according to the health department.
About one in five people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized, according to the CDC. One in 1,000 may develop brain swelling, which could lead to brain damage. And one in three people out of every 1,000 cases can die.
The district has been working with the health department since news of the first four cases of measles at the school were confirmed over the weekend.
Superintendent Peter B. Licata visited the Manatee Bay Elementary School on Monday to meet with the administration and other staff, said John J. Sullivan, a school district spokesman.
“As preventative measures, proactive cleanings at the school continue to take place daily,” Sullivan said. “In addition, over the weekend, the District conducted a deep cleaning of the school premises and replaced its air filters.”
