The Hillsborough County Medical Association (HCMA) affirms our commitment to protecting the wellness of children and families in Hillsborough County and strongly opposes the recent announcement by Florida’s Surgeon General to eliminate longstanding vaccine mandates in our state, including vaccine requirements for school entry.
The HCMA is in full support of the World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) recommendations that immunizations are the safest and most cost-effective way of preventing disease, disability, and death.
For decades, these requirements have safeguarded Florida’s children and communities against deadly but preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and whooping cough. Vaccines have saved millions of lives worldwide. Their effectiveness and safety have been rigorously studied and validated through clinical research and years of experience.
Rolling back these protections places our children and communities at unnecessary risk. Infectious diseases that were once nearly eradicated could reemerge, causing preventable illness, disability, and death, especially among children.
The HCMA fully supports requirements for immunizations to attend childcare and school, with exemptions for religious convictions and/or specific immunizations only when medically contraindicated for an individual child.
We urge Florida’s leaders to preserve existing vaccine requirements that keep our schools safe, our communities healthy, and our children alive.
