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Vaccine Preventable Diseases

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Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD)

Florida Health

Disease Control

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting health care seeking behavior, which may be impacting the diagnosis and reporting of hepatitis A, pertussis, and varicella cases that are shown in this report. For more information on the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, please visit FloridaHealthCOCVID-19.gov.

Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance Report December 2020

Hepatitis A

A graph showing hepatitis A activity has fluctuated each month from February 2019 – December 2020. In December 48 cases were reported.
  • Hepatitis A activity decreased from last month and was similar to the previous 5-year average.
  • 48 cases were reported in November.
  • Since January 2018, 93% of cases were not up-to-date on hepatitis A vaccinations.
  • North Florida had the highest average incidence rates from October 2020 to December 2020.

Pertussis

A graph showing pertussis activity has fluctuated each month from February 2019 – December 2020. In December 5 cases were reported.
  • Pertussis activity increased from last month and was below the previous 5-year average.
  • There was a 92% decrease in reported cases when comparing cases from June 2019—November 2019 to July 2020 December 2020.
  • The average incidence rate for <1 year old from July 2020 to December 2020 was roughly 11 times lower than from July 2019 to December 2019.

Varicella

A graph showing varicella activity has fluctuated each month from February 2019 – December 2020. In December 19 cases were reported
  • Varicella activity decreased from last month and was below the previous 5-year average.
  • 19 cases, including 2 household associated cases, were reported in December 2020.
  • Incidence remained highest among infants <1 year old.
  • 47% of cases were not up to date on varicella vaccinations or had unknown vaccination status.

For all vaccine-preventable diseases, timely and complete vaccination is the best way to prevent infection. Although vaccinated individuals can still become infected with diseases like pertussis or varicella, in general, those who have received at least one dose of vaccine have less severe outcomes than those who have never been vaccinated for the disease.

A map showing the proportion of children ages 4–18 years with religious exemptions by county as of December 31, 2020. Counties with a proportion of 0.5%–1.6% are: Hardee Gadsden Liberty Hendry Dixie Glades Hamilton Bradford Jackson Taylor Calhoun Washington Lafayette Madison DeSoto Holmes Okeechobee Counties with a proportion of 1.6%–3.0% are: Levy Putnam Gilchrist Union Baker Franklin Wakulla Jefferson Miami-Dade Leon Sumter Nassau Suwannee Highlands Polk Gulf Hillsborough Counties with a proportion of 3.0%–4.2% are: Lake Bay Clay Orange Duval Citrus St. Lucie Manatee Indian River Marion Escambia Pasco Palm Beach Charlotte Alachua Broward Santa Rosa Counties with a proportion of 4.2%–7.9% are: Osceola Volusia Seminole Lee Brevard Hernando Collier Pinellas Columbia Okaloosa Martin Monroe St. Johns Flagler Walton Sarasota

Unvaccinated children are at increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, pertussis, and varicella. Communities with a higher proportion of religious exemptions (REs) to vaccination are at increased risk of vaccine-preventable disease transmission.

The proportion of children age 4–18 years with new REs is increasing each month. Statewide, the estimated prevalence of REs among children age 4–18 years old is 3.7% with individual counties ranging from 0.5– 7.9%. In December 2019, the statewide prevalence was 3.3%, and the prevalence has gradually increased each month since.

To learn more about REs at the local level, please visit FloridaHealth.gov/REmap.

All REs are required to be entered into Florida SHOTS (State Health Online Tracking System), Florida’s statewide immunization registry. The map above includes REs registered in Florida SHOTS through June 30, 2020.

 

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