Vaccination in Florida

This article discusses vaccination requirements and exemptions in Florida schools. It also explores the pros and cons of the HPV vaccine. The importance of improving vaccination rates in schools is emphasized.

Running head: VACCINATION IN FLORIDA 1
Vaccines in Florida
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Vaccines in Florida
A school is a place where children from different backgrounds and regions converge in
quest for knowledge and life skills. This creates a threat to public health as different children
might come from backgrounds with diverse infections. The public health department therefore
came up with school vaccination programs to prevent spread of certain diseases. Each state has
unique vaccination requirements (Vamos et al., 2018). In Florida for example, the school
vaccination requirements is that all school going children should be vaccinated through there are
few exceptions. There are different vaccines available though not required. A good example
include measles vaccine. It is not required due to religious beliefs in Florida.
Unlike other states, vaccination among schools in Florida is not mandatory. Surveys note
that a child can be exempted from vaccination in Florida for religious purposes. Furthermore, a
child can also be exempted from vaccination in the state of Florida for medical reasons. This
means that if the body of the child cannot handle the toxic load of the vaccine, then he/she can be
exempted. This is contrary to other states where vaccination in schools is mandatory regardless
of the health condition or religion of the child.
In the past 2 years, there have been rapid changes in vaccination requirements in the state
of Florida. One of the changes is that new vaccines have been made mandatory unlike other
years where some children were exempted due to one or two reasons. There has also been the
elimination of people who can approve vaccine exemptions (Vamos et al., 2018). One of the
significant changes is that vaccine providers have been allowed to administer the vaccines to
young children minus the consent of their parents. Previously, a section of parents were a
stumbling block to vaccination since they could not provide consent. This has changed in the
past two years. Florida has also been allowed to offer forced vaccination and medical

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intervention under certain circumstances. Schools in Florida are also supposed to provide
vaccination rates in their schools. Finally, doctors in the past two years have been allowed to
track and report vaccination among children using electronic records.
Previously, HPV vaccine was not mandatory in Florida. However, recent changes have
seen the vaccine made mandatory in the state. HPV vaccine has diverse pros and cons. The pros
include long lasting protection against HPV, it is safe, prevent throat cancer, genital warts and
precancerous cervical lesions. However, it is also associated with certain disadvantages such as
adverse side effects such as pain at the injection site, fever and fainting. Furthermore, premature
menopause has been reported among female children. It also leads to fatigue.
Vaccination still remains the best strategy to reduce the risk of diseases among children.
In order to improve vaccination rates, vaccination should be made mandatory in schools since all
children will have to attend school. The stakeholders to be involved include parents, teachers, the
government and school administration (Seither et al., 2015). The parents will allow children
attend school to be vaccinated while the government will facilitate the process by offering funds
or resources. Healthcare providers on the other hand are the ones to administer vaccinations.
Finally, teachers and the school administration will facilitate or partner with healthcare providers
to ensure vaccination is successful.

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References
Seither, R., Calhoun, K., Knighton, C. L., Mellerson, J., Meador, S., Tippins, A., …
Dietz, V. (2015). Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten — United
States, 2014–15 School Year. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,
64(33), 897-904. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6433a2
Vamos, C. A., Vázquez-Otero, C., Kline, N., Lockhart, E. A., Wells, K. J., Proctor, S., …
Daley, E. M. (2018). Multi-level determinants to HPV vaccination among Hispanic
farmworker families in Florida. Ethnicity & Health, 1-18.
doi:10.1080/13557858.2018.1514454