3 Measles Cases Confirmed In FL Since Jan. 1, State Report Says

Three measles cases have been confirmed in Florida since the start of the new year, data from the Florida Department of Health shows.

Two cases were reported in the greater Tampa Bay area — one in Hillsborough County and the other in Manatee County — while the third case was in St. Johns County, according to the FDOH’s Reportable Diseases Frequency Report, which was last updated Jan. 17.

None of the three cases are in children.

Those who fell ill in the Hillsborough and Manatee county cases were between 20 and 24 years old, the report said. The person with measles in St. Johns County is between 25 and 29.

In the Manatee County case, the person contracted the disease while outside the U.S., while the Hillsborough and St. Johns cases were acquired in Florida, the report said.

Baptist Health leaders in Duval County also said it recently treated two measles cases in children who visited the hospital’s main campus on Jan. 16, Action News Jax reported. They were treated and sent home without being admitted.

These two cases are not on the FDOH Reportable Diseases Frequency Report.

As of Jan. 22, 416 confirmed measles cases have been reported across the U.S., the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Among these, 413 measles cases were reported by 14 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Three cases were reported by international visitors to the U.S.

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In 2025, there were 2,255 confirmed measles cases in 45 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. There were 25 cases reported by international visitors.

In Florida, there were seven measles cases reported in 2025, the FDOH report said. This includes two each in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and one each in Duval, Leon, and Okaloosa counties.

Dr. Thomas Unnasch, a professor emeritus at USF Health, told Fox 13 that vaccination rates are contributing to the spread of measles.

Herd immunity for the disease requires vaccination rates of 93 to 94 percent, while current experts estimate current immunity levels are closer to 90 to 92 percent, reports said.

“That gap means there are more non-immune, susceptible people walking around,” Unnasch said.

Dr. James Hillman, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at HCA Florida Brandon, told Fox 13,

“We can prevent illnesses like this with immunizations. That’s what makes this so frustrating.”
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in September a push to get rid of mandatory childhood vaccinations in the state.

Ladapo cast current vaccine requirements in schools and elsewhere as an “immoral” intrusion on people's rights bordering on “slavery,” and hampers parents' ability to make health decisions for their children.

“People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions,” said Ladapo, who has frequently clashed with the medical establishment, at a news conference in Valrico, Florida, in the Tampa area. “They don’t have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.”

In December, the FDOH took steps toward eliminating requirements that Florida children receive the hepatitis B, varicella and Haemophilus influenzae type b or Hib vaccines in order to attend public or private K-12 schools by hosting a public hearing on the proposal, U.S. News & World Report said. The proposal also does away with a requirement for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for children attending child care facilities.

Other vaccines, including measles, are required under state law for children to attend school. Changing these vaccine mandates would require action by the Florida State Legislature.