Latest news with #MiamiPalmettoSeniorHighSchool
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Second measles case in South Florida this year confirmed in child
A child in Broward County was diagnosed with measles in April, making it the second confirmed case of the highly contagious disease in South Florida in 2025. The child, who is under the age of 4, contracted the airborne illness outside of the United States, according to the state's Florida Health Charts website. The chart does not provide additional information about the confirmed case. One other confirmed measles case has been reported in South Florida this year, in Miami-Dade County in March, the chart showed. No cases have been reported in Palm Beach County. The first confirmed case in Florida this year was in a student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Miami-Dade. More than a dozen measles outbreaks have been reported across the U.S. so far in 2025 and more than 1,000 cases have been confirmed across 31 states as of Thursday, the latest data available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Cases began to spike in the U.S. this February, and by the end of March, 116 cases were reported in one week, a high so far this year. Two-and-a-half decades ago, there were no cases of the viral disease spreading within the country and new cases were only detected when measles had been contracted abroad, meaning it was officially eliminated from the U.S., according to the CDC. But the U.S. is on track to surpass 1,000 measles cases in at least 30 jurisdictions this year, with Texas reporting the most at nearly 730 cases. The CDC's data shows Florida has reported between 1 and 9 cases but does not include localized information. Outbreaks can occur when measles enters communities where people are unvaccinated. The number of kindergartners in Florida who received all doses of vaccines required for school entry has declined in recent years, the CDC data shows. In the 2023-24 school year, just over 88% of kindergartners had received all doses of all vaccines required, below the 95% the CDC says ensures protection for most people in a community. The year prior, about 90% of kindergarteners had received all required vaccines. Broward County was the site of an outbreak in 2024, with nine out of the state's 10 confirmed cases. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo faced backlash from health experts and politicians after sharing a letter to parents of students at Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston, where seven of the nine cases had been reported, that said they could decide whether to keep their children out of school. Florida Department of Health surveillance data, which makes public the number of current cases of vaccine-preventable diseases by county, had been removed from the state website as of earlier this month and was last accessible in March, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported on May 9. A Florida Department of Health spokesperson did not respond to an email on Friday seeking information on the new reported case or about the chart's accessibility. The spokesperson told the Tallahassee Democrat on Friday that the chart website was not available recently because it was being upgraded. Sun Sentinel staff writer Cindy Goodman contributed to this report.
Miami Herald
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Justice Jackson, who grew up in Miami, opposed allowing Trump to deport Venezuelans with TPS
Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was known as a formidable debater at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in the 1980s, joined the U.S. Supreme Court as its first Black female justice three ago ago. On Monday, Jackson was the only justice whose name appeared on the Supreme Court's momentous decision that allows the Trump administration to revoke deportation and work protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants. Jackson opposed the court's unsigned order in favor of the administration. Its ruling reversed a federal judge's decision blocking the Trump administration from revoking the Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Venezuelans living and working in Florida and other states. Although the court's order offered no explanation, Jackson was opposed to allowing the Department of Homeland Security to deport the Venezuelan immigrants while they are suing the government over its revocation policy in federal court. The court's order simply said that Jackson 'would deny' the administration's request. Jackson, 54, who grew up in Miami, is among the three liberals on the conservative-dominated nine-member court. She may be its newest justice, but she 'really hit the ground running,' said Pamela S. Karlan, a law professor at Stanford, in a New York Times assessment of her first year on the Supreme Court in 2023. 'And the lines are pretty sharply drawn between her and the majority on criminal justice issues as well as racial justice issues,' Karlan said. As President Donald Trump has launched a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration in his second term, Jackson has voted with her liberal colleagues in a dissent on an Alien Enemies Act petition and with the majority in another appeal on the wartime powers law dating back to 1798. In April, the Supreme Court vacated temporary restraining orders issued by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that had halted deportations of Venezuelan gang suspects under the Alien Enemies Act to a mega prison in El Salvador. The court split 5-4, with Republican appointees in the majority and Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett dissenting alongside the court's three Democratic appointees, including Jackson. In an unsigned 'per curiam' ruling for the court, the majority said detainees must bring their challenges in habeas corpus proceedings where they are being held by immigration authorities. 'The detainees are confined in Texas, so venue is improper in the District of Columbia,' the majority found. The dissenting justices, noting the brutal conditions of the El Salvador prison, focused on the potential 'life or death consequences.' But last week, Jackson sided with six other justices in their majority ruling that extended a block on the Trump administration from deporting suspected Venezuelan gang members who are being detained in parts of Texas to the El Salvador prison under the wartime powers law. The justices also reprimanded federal authorities for failing to provide the detainees with more due process under the Alien Enemies Act. In the 7-2 vote, the court's emergency decision prevents immigration agents from removing alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang under the 18th century law as two detainees pursue their challenge in the federal Northern District of Texas.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Is measles spreading in Florida? Hard to know. State's disease-tracking data no longer available
Do you want to know how many measles cases have been confirmed in your county this year? How about whether the recent tuberculosis case reported at a high school is confined to one school or spreading throughout South Florida? Florida Department of Health surveillance data, which previously made public the number of current cases of each vaccine-preventable disease by county, has been removed from the state website. State and local health officials did not respond to numerous requests for an explanation or point to another location on the state's health department website where the information is available to the general public. The last time that chart was available was in March after a Miami Palmetto Senior High School student was diagnosed with measles, becoming the first case in Florida in 2025. The chart containing current trends for communicable diseases had long been relied upon by epidemiologists and medical professionals for tracking, and included up-to-date information on outbreaks in Florida, including monkeypox and Hepatitis A. Awareness of the spread of both diseases, at the time, led to a vaccination effort and a public health response to curb the outbreaks. 'It's important for clinicians and families to know when something is spreading for which we have a prevention,' said Aileen Marty, an expert in infectious disease with Florida International University's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. 'Having good and timely information makes a huge difference in diagnosing a case earlier and helping parents make decisions or take action.' While the real-time case reporting of diseases no longer exists, the Florida Department of Health does offer a monthly report through March of total cases in the state of four out of more than 50 communicable diseases. For diseases like measles, leprosy or monkeypox, the county-level data on the state website is available only through 2023. Parents must now rely on their child's school to inform them of a confirmed case of measles or another vaccine-preventable disease. Schools are required to send a notification letter to parents of students and staff who may have been exposed. This letter typically includes information about the outbreak, what parents should do if their children are not vaccinated, and how to contact the health department for further guidance. Of course, diseases like measles are not limited to children, so relying on schools to inform the community doesn't protect adults who may not have children, or those who live in neighborhoods with school-age children with whom they interact regularly. Laws protecting health information prevent medical professionals from sharing information with the community as well. 'We are keeping people in the dark. They no longer have the ability to know that a disease is circulating,' Marty said. 'It's not just about prevention. The earlier you diagnose something makes a difference.' Measles has been particularly problematic this year: The U.S. is on track to surpass 1,000 measles cases in 30 jurisdictions as the viral illness — once so rare that most young doctors don't recognize the symptomatic rash — makes a comeback. Three children have died this year from the disease. Along with the Miami case reported in a high schooler this year, Florida had an outbreak of nine cases in Broward County in February 2024. The lack of publicly available surveillance information in Florida comes as fewer children are getting vaccinated. In the 2023-24 school year, only 88.1% of Florida kindergartners completed required vaccines that protect against severe illnesses, including measles, polio and chickenpox, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health experts recommend a vaccination rate of at least 95% for highly contagious diseases like measles to maintain community-wide immunity. Florida's is one of the lowest rates in the nation. Many students use religious exemptions to opt out of the mandatory vaccinations required to attend public school. New information posted on the Florida Department of Health website notes: 'Communities with a higher proportion of religious exemptions to vaccination are at increased risk of vaccine-preventable disease transmission.' The website also says: 'The proportion of children age 5-17 years with new religious exemptions are increasing each month.' 'There's been a dismantling of a lot of the Department of Health websites and people who are working on them,' said Jennifer Takagishi, professor of pediatrics and division chief of General Academic Pediatrics at the University of South Florida. 'The number of the employees has decreased significantly, so data tracking is becoming much more difficult.' Takagishi said the lack of information makes it challenging for pediatricians. 'We end up playing catch-up after a child contracts a vaccine-preventable illness, and then we start looking at who else is vulnerable and start offering vaccines,' she said. If available, real-time surveillance would help pediatricians to allow parents to make informed decisions. 'If we know measles is in the community and make families aware of it, they realize, 'Oh, this is something that can actually happen to my child or my family,' and then they might be more willing to get the vaccine,' Takagishi said. The CDC has also removed some health data from its website. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed executive orders instructing federal health agencies to take down certain data sets and information on adolescent health, infectious diseases, reproductive care, and HIV, as well as references to unconscious bias and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Researchers and clinicians spoke out, stating they had lost access to critical data and information they need to study, treat, and prevent diseases. A federal judge ordered some of the information to be restored. The CDC is tracking measles cases by state, but its surveillance offers only that Florida has between one and nine cases this year. In the last month, a Fort Lauderdale high school and Miami's federal detention center have each confirmed an active case of tuberculosis, a deadly but treatable infectious disease. The Florida Department of Health said tuberculosis testing would be offered to students and school staff who were identified as possibly having close contact with the individual. But whether there are more cases in South Florida is unknown. Florida recorded 681 cases of TB in 2024, about 9% more than the previous year, federal data shows. Tuberculosis case numbers for 2025 are not on federal or state websites. 'What's happening is there's a downstream effect,' Takagishi said. 'Families don't have the data, physicians don't have the data, and the health systems don't have the data that they need to really keep our community safe.' South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@
CBS News
05-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Students, parents on high alert after 1st confirmed measles case pops up at Miami Palmetto Senior High School
School officials are working to prevent a measles outbreak after a Miami-Dade County student tested positive for the disease, putting several parents on high alert. Measles is a viral illness that spreads through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red or watery eyes and rash that usually starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. "Hello parents, this is Victoria Dobbs calling from Miami Palmetto Senior High School to inform you that a student has been diagnosed with measles," the school's principal said in a voicemail to all parents on Tuesday. "If your child is experiencing symptoms or has been diagnosed with measles, please notify the school immediately." Diana Barrios picked up her son Jeremiah early from school at Miami Palmetto Senior High after a student there was confirmed to be the first case in Miami-Dade County this year: "It's concerning." The mother and son are just two of the several parents and students who have shared their concerns about the first case. The case comes amid reports of measles outbreaks in other states, including Texas, and follows cases reported in neighboring Broward County last year. "He has a shot, but the shots [have] been over a year, so I don't know if he can be contagious or something," Diana Barrios told CBS News Miami. Diana Barrios wanted to verify with her son's doctor to make sure that he'll be okay -- that's why they're heading out to the doctor's office early for reassurance: "I want to verify." "I realized that when I ask him if [my son's] under high-risk if I should continue to send him to school what can you advise me," Diana Barrios told CBS News Miami. Jeremiah Barrios said after hearing the news, he'll take extra precautions to stay safe and healthy. "I'm definitely going to keep my distance even more than I usually do, just more to myself, especially during COVID," he told CBS News Miami. "I caught it like three times, it was really bad. I really wouldn't want to read through that mess -- something that'll be good for me." The school, located in the 7400 block of SW 120th St., will host a free MMR immunization drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the week of March 10, 2025, for unvaccinated students with parental consent. The Miami-Dade County Health Department will notify parents of students who had close contact with the infected individual.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Measles confirmed in Miami teenager, the first in Florida this year
A teenager in Miami-Dade has a confirmed cases of measles, the first such infection in Florida since a small outbreak of the disease in South Florida in 2024. The infection was reported on a Florida Department of Health database for Florida's infectious and reportable diseases. A Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokesperson confirmed that a student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School was infected. The school district has notified parents of other students at the school. Florida Department of Health officials did not return repeated calls and emails seeking comment. Health officials are working to trace anyone the student may have come into contact with, the schools official said. The case comes as health officials in West Texas and eastern New Mexico are already trying to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious disease with almost 150 confirmed cases and the death of a school-aged child. Once a common childhood disease, measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, an accomplishment achieved through a childhood vaccination program that is regarded as a public health success story. Infection typically results in acute illness and a rash of small red slightly raised spots. It can lead to high fever and complications including bronchitis and pneumonia. Outbreaks have become more common in recent years across communities where there are pockets of children or adults who are not immunized, said George Rust, co-director of Florida State University's Center for Medicine and Public Health. He stressed that the disease is not a routine childhood illness. 'Measles is far from a routine illness - kids get really sick,' Rust said. 'They get high fevers. They cough. They feel awful for days. Many are hospitalized, and a few of them may die.' Measles is highly contagious because of its airborne spread. An infected child in a classroom of unvaccinated children would result in an infection rate of 90%, Rust said. 'It hangs in the air even an hour or more after that kid has left the room,' he said. The Texas outbreak has prompted increased debate about an uptick in vaccine skepticism in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Florida, the percentage of Florida kindergartners who are vaccinated against childhood diseases fell from 94% in 2017 to 90% in 2023, according to state data. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said in a recent Fox News opinion column that vaccines not only protect individuals but the community too. But he said the decision to vaccinate is a 'personal one.' School districts have reported a rise in the number of parents filing religious exemptions against school-required vaccines. Statewide, more than 5% of children are now exempted from required vaccinations, state data shows. In Pinellas County, 7% of students have vaccine exemptions. The more children that are exempted, the higher the risk of further outbreaks, Rust said. Once vaccine levels drop below 95%, it is far tougher to prevent the spread of the disease. 'The idea that immunizations are just an individual risk-benefit decision is wrong,' he said. 'I'm getting a vaccine to protect myself but also to protect my neighbors ; I'm protecting pregnant women and infants who are too small to get the vaccine.'
