Chickenpox and hepatitis B shots could become optional for Florida schoolchildren under a state health department proposal. Aventura-area families can weigh in through Monday, Sept. 14.
The Florida Department of Health published Proposed Rule 64D-3.046 on Aug. 24, opening a 21-day public comment window. The rule would remove four vaccines from the list required to enter pre-K through 12th grade schools and daycares: hepatitis B, varicella, or chickenpox, Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal disease.
The change would apply to every Miami-Dade County Public Schools student, including children at Aventura City of Excellence School and Don Soffer Aventura High School.
Why these four vaccines can be dropped without a legislative vote
Florida law requires only three vaccine groups for school entry: DTaP, which covers diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; MMR, which covers measles, mumps and rubella; and polio. The other four were added by the health department through administrative rules, as WLRN reported Aug. 10. That distinction matters. Because the Legislature never voted them into statute, the department can remove them without a legislative vote.
Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said the change supports "medical freedom," according to WUSF. The rule would also broaden the state's religious exemption form to cover "moral" or "ethical" beliefs and change provisions for opting out of the Florida SHOTS immunization registry.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has said there is no scientific basis for removing the four vaccines and that the changes put children at greater risk of disease and death, according to the same WUSF report.
Miami-Dade vaccination rate trails herd-immunity threshold
Miami-Dade's kindergarten vaccination rate for the 2025-26 school year stood at 90.8%, according to WLRN. That falls below the 95% threshold public health experts consider necessary to prevent sustained community spread of measles. Statewide, the rate dropped to 88.9%, down from 93.3% in 2020.
Florida had recorded 155 measles cases as of early August, compared with seven in all of 2025, according to WLRN.
Dr. Rana Alissa, president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told WLRN in August that "Florida is not the only state, but it was going to be ground zero to change these rules."
Kas Miller, director of Florida Families for Vaccines, told WUSF that families across the state are confused about why the state would pursue the change.
