Florida Sets October 8 Lake Mary Hearing on Dropping Chickenpox, Hepatitis B and Two Other School Vaccine Requirements

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Florida parents now have a firm date to weigh in before the state decides whether children still need four vaccines to enroll in school or day care. The Florida Department of Health will hold a public hearing on October 8, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Orlando Marriott Lake Mary, according to a notice in the Florida Administrative Register. The hearing covers the department’s plan to drop entry requirements for the chickenpox (varicella), hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines.

The rule has not taken effect, and nothing about the recommended childhood vaccine schedule changes because of it. The vaccines would remain available, but schools, preschools, daycares, and adult education programs could no longer require proof of them, as WUSF reported. That puts the decision squarely on families, many of whom rely on enrollment paperwork as a reminder of which shots their child is due for.

The stakes may be greatest for households with babies and toddlers in group care. Hib and pneumococcal vaccines are given mainly in the first years of life, when those infections are most dangerous, so a day-care classroom, not a high school hallway, is where the rule change could matter first.

The hearing will take place in Grand Ballroom E, F, G, and H of the hotel at 1501 International Parkway in Lake Mary, north of Orlando. The notice says the session will end at noon or when the hearing concludes, whichever comes first. People can request an agenda from Tom Bendle of the department’s Division of Disease Control at [email protected] or 850-245-4342.

The rule at issue, 64D-3.046 of the Florida Administrative Code, sets immunization paperwork for public and private schools from preschool through grade 12 and for adult education classes. The department also posted a notice of change to the proposed rule on September 30, though its online summary does not describe the edits.

MedicalDaily first reported in August that Florida moved to drop four school vaccine requirements after Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo approved the proposal. At that time, the plan was open for written comments, which the proposed rule notice said would run from August 24 to September 14. Earlier this week, MedicalDaily also covered a measles modeling study that projected outbreak risks if school coverage fell further. The new development is the in-person hearing, the only public hearing announced so far.

In its proposed rule notice, the department said the change “removes from requirements immunizations that are not required by section 1003.22, Florida Statutes.” In practice, the state is keeping only the shots that lawmakers wrote into law. The measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough requirements stay because only the Legislature can remove them.

The same proposal would let parents cite moral and ethical beliefs on the state’s religious exemption form. Ladapo has framed the effort as a matter of medical freedom and parental choice. At a September 3, 2025, news conference in Valrico, he said of vaccine mandates, “Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” according to a PolitiFact review that rated the comparison Pants on Fire, its lowest rating.

The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics sees a different risk. “Even when exercised infrequently, nonmedical exemptions are neither harmless nor benign,” the group said, adding that such exemptions “lead to lower immunization rates and weaken our ability as a state to protect ourselves against dangerous diseases.” Doctors at a department workshop in December 2025 also raised concerns about meningitis, WUSF reported.

Florida’s vaccine coverage has already slipped. Vaccination rates among the state’s children have fallen nearly 5% since the 2019-20 school year, and only 88.8% of kindergartners had the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine in 2024-25, according to WUSF. That is below the national average of 93% and short of the 95% level linked to preventing measles outbreaks.

Those numbers concern a vaccine that is not part of this rule, but they show the trend pediatricians fear could spread to the four shots now under review. Hib can cause meningitis, pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and throat swelling, mainly in children under 5, according to the CDC. The agency recommends the vaccine for all children in that age group. Children too young to finish their shots, and those with weakened immune systems, depend most on high coverage among classmates.

Parents can take simple steps now. They can ask their pediatrician or county health department for their child’s record and confirm whether any doses are overdue, since doctor recommendations have not changed. Families can also ask their day care or school how it will respond, since the proposal removes requirements but does not stop programs from encouraging vaccination.

Cost should not be a barrier for many households. Most private insurance plans cover routine childhood vaccines, and the federal Vaccines for Children program supplies them at no cost to eligible children through county health departments and participating clinics. Parents with questions about a specific vaccine or their child’s health should talk with a clinician.

The department has not announced when it will file the rule for adoption, and no effective date has been set. Under Florida’s rulemaking process, a rule generally takes effect 20 days after it is filed with the Department of State unless a later date is listed. It remains unclear whether the notice of change will alter the final version or whether a legal challenge will follow.

MedicalDaily will track the hearing and any filing that follows. For now, the four vaccines remain required for Florida school and day-care entry, and doctors still recommend them on the usual schedule. Families who want a voice in the decision have one week to plan, and checking a child’s vaccine record is a reasonable step whatever the outcome.

When and where is Florida’s vaccine rule hearing?

The Florida Department of Health will hold the hearing on October 8, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Orlando Marriott Lake Mary, 1501 International Parkway. It may end earlier if the hearing concludes before noon.

Which vaccines would no longer be required?

The proposal would remove school and child-care entry requirements for the chickenpox, hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate, and Hib vaccines. These shots would still be available and recommended by doctors.

Are measles and polio shots still required in Florida schools?

Yes. Measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough requirements are written into state law, so only the Florida Legislature can change them.

No. The hearing is still ahead, the department has not filed the rule for adoption, and no effective date has been announced. The four vaccines remain required for now.

Who could be most affected if the rule is adopted?

Infants and toddlers in day care face the greatest exposure risk, because Hib and pneumococcal infections are most dangerous in children under 5. Children with weakened immune systems and those too young to finish their vaccine series also rely on high coverage around them.

Parents can review their child’s vaccine record with a pediatrician or county health department, ask their school or day care how it plans to respond, and attend the hearing or contact the department to share their views.