Peer-reviewed article
Parental vaccination intentions following Florida's announced elimination of school vaccine mandates: The role of vaccine hesitancy.
Kline N, Ali S, Griner SB, Maness SB, Merrell L et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study surveyed 519 Florida parents in December 2025 to understand how the state's announced elimination of school vaccine mandates affected their intentions to vaccinate their children. While 42% reported being more likely to vaccinate and 38% reported no change, 20% reported being less likely to vaccinate. Vaccine hesitancy was the strongest predictor of whether parents changed their vaccination intentions, with hesitant parents much more likely to reduce vaccination and less likely to increase it.
Key points
- 42% of Florida parents reported increased vaccination intentions following the mandate elimination announcement, while 20% reported decreased intentions
- Vaccine hesitancy was the only variable independently associated with changes in vaccination intention
- Among hesitant respondents, 44% reported decreased vaccination intentions compared to only 13% of non-hesitant respondents
- Among non-hesitant respondents, 50% reported increased vaccination intentions compared to only 16% of hesitant respondents
- Policy changes appear to reinforce existing vaccination attitudes rather than shifting parental views
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and based on self-reported intentions rather than actual vaccination behaviour, so it cannot determine whether stated intentions translate to real changes in vaccination rates. The survey only included English-speaking Florida residents aged 18 and older with school-aged children, limiting generalisability.
Abstract
Objectives In 2025, Florida officials announced plans to end vaccine mandates, including school-based vaccine requirements. This study assessed whether Florida parents/caregivers reported changes in pediatric vaccination intentions related to the state's announcement and identified correlates of reported changes. Methods We conducted an online survey with 519 Florida parents/caregivers of school-aged children in December 2025. Eligibility criteria included being aged 18 or older, having at least one school-aged child, residing in Florida, and speaking English. Measures included sociodemographic characteristics, political affiliation, vaccine hesitancy, and self-reported changes in vaccination intention following the policy announcement. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression models examined correlates of vaccine hesitancy and vaccination intention change. Results Overall, 42% of participants reported being more likely to vaccinate children following the announcement, 38% reported no change, and 20% reported being less likely. Vaccine hesitancy was the only variable independently associated with reported intention change. Hesitant respondents were more likely than non-hesitant respondents to report decreased vaccination intentions (44% vs 13%) and less likely to report increased intentions (16% vs 50%). Conclusions Findings suggest vaccine hesitancy shapes responses to vaccine policy change. Such policies may reinforce existing vaccination attitudes, resulting in divergent vaccination intentions among caregivers with differing levels of hesitancy.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Florida policy announcement to eliminate school-based vaccine requirements
- Population
- 519 Florida parents/caregivers of school-aged children, aged 18 and older, English-speaking
Key finding
42% reported being more likely to vaccinate following the announcement