In the midst of a measles outbreak at Manatee Bay Elementary School near Fort Lauderdale, Florida's Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, is under fire for advising parents that keeping unvaccinated children from school is a matter of personal choice, bucking CDC guidelines that recommend a mandatory exclusion for these students. According to WSVN, Ladapo's controversial stance came after six students contracted measles, a disease that has spiked in reported cases this year.

The state’s decision against enforcing a mandate comes as a surprise, given that unvaccinated students are traditionally sent home for three weeks to prevent further spread of the contagious virus. As reported by U.S. News, Broward County school district revealed that 33 of the school's 1,067 students lack at least one dose of the measles vaccine. Ladapo cited the "high immunity rate in the community" and concerns over the educational impact on children as reasons to defer to parental discretion.

This move has been met with criticism from medical professionals. Dr. Rana Alissa, vice president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said, "When you have an outbreak, to contain it you have to follow the public health and safety recommendations, not give people a choice." Alissa's sentiments were echoed in a statement obtained by WSVN, in which she stressed following CDC guidelines "for the safety of our kids."

While Ladapo's office did not respond to requests for comment, the district spokesperson John Sullivan stated the health department holds the authority regarding exclusion decisions. Concerns rise as measles—a virus that on rare occasions can cause seizures according to the CDC—is highly infectious, even in settings such as the affluent Weston suburb where the school is located with median household incomes surpassing $120,000. Despite stringent vaccine requirements in Florida schools, exemptions for medical reasons or conflicting "religious tenets and practices" do exist.

The potential consequences of measles are not trivial; approximately 20% of unvaccinated individuals who contract the virus may end up hospitalized, cite CDC figures. Children face risks of pneumonia and brain swelling, and mortality rates range from 1 to 3 fatalities per 1,000 infections among unvaccinated kids. These stark statistics contrast the greater than 95% vaccine efficacy after just one dose, a statistic featured in both WSVN and U.S. News coverage, underscoring the vaccine's importance in preventing such outbreaks.