Florida Department of Health

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Byron Donalds says he'd like to "study and really engage it" before making a decision about whether to repeal statutory vaccine requirements for schools.

The health department is proposing a rule to remove hepatitis B, chickenpox, Hib and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine mandates for school attendance, a move that has been in play nearly a year.

The latest weekly report from the state health department showed 43 additional illnesses, down from 66, 87 and 97 in the previous respective updates. Eleven of the new patients were in Bay County.

Florida reported 66 cases of the gastrointestinal illness, down from the previous week's count of 87. That paralleled national numbers as the head of FDA assured Americans it was OK to eat lettuce.

The Florida Department of Health's most recent day reflects from July 25 to Aug. 1 The state's total count is 355 cases since May 1, a benchmark date tied to the first outbreaks U.S. outbreaks.

There have been 252 cases in Florida since June 1, around the time outbreaks of the disease were first reported in five Midwest states, according to the state health department.

The Florida Department of Health offices in both counties said they are working with mosquito control agencies to monitor and respond to the cases.

The CDC says it has logged more than 2,300 cases of measles as of Thursday. Major outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah, and Arizona have contributed to the rise.

During a roundtable on youth mental health, Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo introduced guidelines urging broader evaluations by providers before children are prescribed psychotropics.

The death was reported in June and involved a Palm Beach County resident who was 80 to 84 years old, according to the health department. There have been 11 Vibrio cases in Florida this year.

The state health department added 60 confirmed cases for a total of 154 since May 1, when officials began identifying an outbreak of the gastrointestinal illness around the country.

Once a case is confirmed, a report is sent to the state Department of Health. But if someone doesn’t seek medical attention, the case could go unreported. Plus, there could be a six-week reporting lag, the CDC says.