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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 FloridaHealthCOCVID19.gov.



Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance Report March 2021

Hepatitis A

A graph showing hepatitis A activity has fluctuated each month from April 2020 – March 2021. In March 26 cases were reported.
  • Hepatitis A activity is similar to last month and was below the previous 5-year average.
  • 26 cases were reported in March.
  • Since 2018, 98% of cases were not up-to-date on hepatitis A vaccinations.
  • Northwest Florida had the highest average incidence rates from October 2020 to March 2021.

Pertussis

A graph showing pertussis activity has fluctuated each month from April 2020 – March 2021. In March 4 cases were reported.
  • Pertussis activity is similar to last month and was below the previous 5-year average.
  • 4 cases were reported in March.
  • Compared to October 2018 - March 2019, there was an 87% decrease in reported cases in the past 6 months.
  • In the past 6 months, the average incidence rate for <1 year old was 12.5 times lower compared to October 2018 - March 2019.

Varicella

A graph showing varicella activity has fluctuated each month from April 2020 – March 2021. In March 26 cases were reported.
  • Varicella activity increased from last month and was below the previous 5-year average.
  • 26 cases were reported in March.
  • Incidence remained highest among infants <1 year old.
  • 58% 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 1 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 March 31, 2021. Counties with a proportion of 0.6%–1.6% are Hardee Gadsden Liberty Hendry Dixie Calhoun Bradford Taylor Glades Hamilton Jackson Lafayette Washington DeSoto Madison Okeechobee Levy Counties with a proportion of 1.6%–3.1% are: Holmes Putnam Union Gilchrist Franklin Baker Wakulla Jefferson Miami_Dade Leon Sumter Nassau Gulf Highlands Polk Suwannee Bay Counties with a proportion of 3.1%–4.3% are: Hillsboroug Lake Clay Orange Duval CitrusSt_LucieManatee Marion Escambia Indian_River Palm_Beach Pasco Charlotte

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 are increasing each month. Statewide, the estimated prevalence of REs among children age 4–18 years old is 3.8% with individual counties ranging from 0.6 – 8.0%. In March 2019, the statewide prevalence was 3.4%, 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 March 28, 2021.

 

*Note: This page contains materials in the Portable Document Format (PDF). The free Acrobat Reader may be required to view these files.