ORLANDO, Fla. – The vaccination rate for Orange County kindergarteners hit a 20-year low this year, and experts fear that with fewer children immunized, outbreaks of infectious diseases are likely.
The percentage of pupils entering kindergarten fully vaccinated also has plummeted across the state and in other Central Florida counties, according to the Florida Department of Health, but Orange’s drop was among the steepest.
The percentage of Orange kindergarteners vaccinated against infectious diseases such as measles and polio was nearly 94% in 2016 and plummeted to about 85% in 2025. The county for many years exceeded the overall state vaccination rate but now is well below it…