Families at Palm Harbor University High, Dunedin High and every other Pinellas County school could see four vaccines disappear from the list of shots required for enrollment if a state proposal moves forward.
The Florida Department of Health published a proposed rule on Monday, Aug. 24, that would eliminate school-entry requirements for Hepatitis B, chickenpox (varicella), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for Pre-K through 12th grade students statewide. The public comment window runs through Monday, Sept. 14.
Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo approved the rule change on Aug. 20. Because those four vaccines are mandated by agency rule rather than state law, the Department of Health can repeal them without a vote in the Legislature, the Sun Sentinel reported. Vaccines required by statute, including polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria and tetanus, would remain mandatory.
Gov. Ron DeSantis framed the move as expanding parental choice. "Our view has always just been, education is always better than coercion, so we've shied away from coercion," he said, according to Tampa Bay 28.
Pinellas parents split
Pinellas County parent Maria Oczko-Canant told Tampa Bay 28 she supports the change, saying parents should make medical decisions with their pediatricians rather than because of school-entry rules.
On the other side, Kas Miller, director of Florida Families for Vaccines, told the station that polling from her organization shows 8 in 10 Florida families support existing requirements. Miller said families simply want their children to stay healthy and in school with their classmates.
Local immunization rates already declining
The debate arrives as Pinellas County's vaccination numbers slide. Only 87.3% of the county's 7,042 kindergartners were fully immunized during the 2025-2026 school year, according to a state Senate analysis. That's down from 92.2% in 2020. The county's religious exemption rate stood at 7% in 2023-2024, among the higher rates in the state.
Statewide, kindergarten immunization completion fell to 88.7% in 2024-2025, well below the roughly 95% threshold health experts cite for herd immunity.
At a state workshop on Dec. 12, 2025, in Panama City Beach, Dr. Jill Roberts, a professor at the University of South Florida's College of Medicine, warned that removing mandates or adding exemptions erodes the "wall of immunity" that protects children who cannot be vaccinated. She told Bay News 9 that weakening requirements puts vulnerable people at risk.
What else the rule would change
Beyond dropping the four vaccines, the proposed rule would expand religious exemptions to include moral and ethical beliefs. It would also let parents and college students opt out of having their records included in the Florida SHOTS state vaccine database.
How to comment
The comment window closes Monday, Sept. 14. Submissions must be 8,000 characters or fewer and can be filed at flrules.org. No timeline for final adoption has been announced beyond that deadline.
