Florida Department of Health

The health department wants to remove the immunization requirements for hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate to attend Florida schools.

Health officials have cautioned the mosquito-borne illness doesn't respect county boundaries. In a region connected by daily commuting, infected people can spread it beyond the original hotspots.

Mosquito control experts say this year's unusual weather conditions — extreme drought along the Gulf Coast followed by heavy rain in August — played a part in an explosion of mosquitoes and the current outbreak of locally acquired dengue.

Broward is the eighth Florida county to confirm a locally acquired case during the current outbreak, which has mostly been limited to the Tampa Bay area – primarily Hillsborough County.

The state is moving forward with its push to end the requirement for four vaccines for children entering schools but has removed the words “sincerely held moral or ethical belief” from a proposed rule change.

Information from state health departments and medical journals suggests the Florida outbreak marks the most cases in a calendar year for any state since at least the 1940s.

As part of the state surgeon general's push for "medical freedom," Florida wants to change rules that require four vaccines for schools, daycare and adult education programs.

The victim was 50 to 54 years old and was listed in the health department's Vibrio database for the week of Sept. 13-19. It was the state's 22nd case and fifth death tied to the bacterial illness in 2026.

Hillsborough added 36 cases, per the latest state report on mosquito-borne illnesses, while Pasco and Pinellas officials went into a proactive mode while their counts remain low.

The 80-year-old was apparently the first person in the region killed by the mosquito-spread virus in nearly a century. At the same time, there are signs the Hillsborough County outbreak could be waning.

University of Florida students are working with the Florida Department of Health in Alachua County to provide free flu vaccinations at 37 Alachua County schools through UF's Control Flu program.

There were 39 additional cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the county in the health department's latest update covering Sept. 6-12. Hillsborough's 134 cases reported since July account for nearly 90% of the 152 statewide.