Are vaccines on your Florida back-to-school list? What your child needs to attend class
The University of Miami Health System’s pediatric mobile clinics have seen an increase in demand for vaccinations as families — some new to the area, others grappling with the loss of Medicaid — get ready for the 2023-2024 school year.
“We have never seen such a need in our community ... and it’s just been overwhelming,” said Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a UM pediatrician who serves as medical director for UM’s pediatric mobile clinic.
UHealth’s mobile pediatric vans have so far administered more than 4,200 vaccines this summer compared to last, when the units administered 3,566 shots.
“There’s been a lot of new families to the community,” Gwynn said, “and then also children who have lost their Medicaid who need their vaccinations. So we have been busier than ever.”
Vaccines protecting against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and other diseases are required for all public and private schoolchildren attending childcare and K-12 school in the state, excluding those who have a medical or religious exemption. COVID-19 vaccines are optional.
And with Monday marking the first full week of school for students in Miami-Dade County and the first day of school for students in Broward County, pediatricians are encouraging parents to make sure their child’s immunization records are up-to-date.
The reason:
“One is for the protection of their child and then the other is for the protection in the children around them,” said Mary Jo Trepka, an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor at Florida International University.
“Measles, for example, is a highly contagious disease, even more contagious then the omicron variant,” she said. “It can really go through a community like wildfire, and you need to have herd immunity for measles — you need to have more than 95% of the population vaccinated. And that’s why it’s so critical that within schools, that kids are vaccinated against all childhood vaccines, but in particular measles.
“It’s for the protection of everybody,” she added.
The country saw a nationwide dip in routine child vaccinations following the COVID pandemic, when families stayed home and kids learned remotely. Florida saw a more than 10-year low for kindergartners and seventh-graders completing their required immunizations for the 2021-2022 school year, with state officials noting in a report that the “COVID-19 pandemic likely played a significant role” in the decrease of vaccinations and the “continued increase” of students with temporary medical exemptions and religious exemptions.
Pediatricians believe they’ve mostly caught up with vaccination delays fueled by the pandemic, but there is still concern that some kids might not get the necessary shots, particularly those who lost their Medicaid coverage after the federal COVID-19 pandemic emergency ended in April.
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Dr. Thresia Gambon, president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the organization has been working hard to promote school-required vaccinations while also continuing to fight against vaccine disinformation that “seemed to escalate during the COVID pandemic.”
While statewide immunization data for last year’s kindergarten and seventh-grade students isn’t available yet, about 92% of kindergartners in Miami-Dade and Broward had the school-required vaccines for the 2021-2022 school year, according to a report published by the Florida Department of Health. About 94% of seventh-graders in Miami-Dade and 95% of seventh-graders in Broward had the required school vaccines. Statewide, about 91.7% of kindergarten students in public and private schools and about 94.3% of seventh-grade students completed their shots.
The goal is to generally have at least 95% of kids up-to-date with their vaccines in each county and statewide, said Trepka, the FIU epidemiologist. The Miami Herald has requested public records to the Miami-Dade and Broward public school districts for their most recent immunization data.
The three health experts the Miami Herald spoke with are hopeful that Florida’s children immunization rate will increase this school year. They’re also urging parents to speak with their child’s doctors to answer vaccine questions and to also schedule their child’s yearly check-up.
Can children be in school temporarily without the required vaccines?
Generally speaking, the moment a child enrolls in a school, the registrar’s office would check to see if the child has all of the required vaccines. If he or she doesn’t, the school would notify parents, and provide a list of resources, such as locations of the health department offices and the UHealth pediatric mobile clinic, for example, to help them get their child vaccinated within 48 hours, according to Elmo Lugo, spokesman for the Miami-Dade school district.
Under Florida law, schools are not allowed to admit students who do not have the required school vaccines.
The law does allow temporary exemptions of up to 30 school days for children who transfer into a new county to attend class while the school district waits to obtain his or her records, are homeless, or who entered a juvenile justice program. Some children may also be eligible for a religious exemption or a temporary or permanent medical exemption.
Healthcare providers can grant temporary medical exemptions to students who have some of their shots and are in the process of completing their immunizations. These students will be given a deadline to get all of the required shots. Providers can also grant a permanent medical exemption to students who cannot be fully immunized due to medical reasons.
Where to get free or low-cost vaccines
Some families might be in search of free or low-cost vaccine options. Here are some:
▪ Florida’s Vaccines for Children program: The federal program helps children receive routine vaccines for free and is administered and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory. Eligible providers include the Florida Department of Health offices in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Children through age 18 who have Medicaid, are uninsured or are American Indian or Alaska Native are eligible. Kids whose insurance does not cover some or all routinely recommended immunizations may also be eligible through a federally qualified health center or rural health clinic, according to the CDC. Speak with your child’s pediatrician to learn more.
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▪ Miami-Dade County Public Schools has partnered with the University of Miami Health System Pediatric Mobile Clinic to offer school-required vaccines, the flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots at select schools. For the school schedule, visit dadeschools.net. You can also visit pediatricmobileclinic.com to learn more about UHealth’s pediatric mobile clinic and “Shotz-To-Go!” mobile vaccination unit and see the schedule.
▪ Broward County Public Schools has an online flier advertising that the Florida Department of Health in Broward County will be offering free school-required vaccines through Aug. 25 at the Children’s Reading Center & Museum, 751 SW 121st Ave, in Davie from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
▪ Statewide: Visit http://www.floridahealth.gov/all-county-locations.html to contact your local health department about what vaccine options they have available for children and teenagers. You can also inquire about vaccine options at nearby community health centers.
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