FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For the first time since the U.S. declared polio officially eradicated in 1979, Floridians are concerned about their odds of getting the disease.
Florida is beginning the groundwork to learn if polio is in the state after one person was diagnosed with paralytic polio in Rockland County, New York, and the disease was discovered in New York City’s wastewater.
With this new concern, counties throughout the state are gearing up to test their wastewater and encourage more vaccination. This comes as Florida’s childhood vaccination rate in 2021 dropped to its lowest level in seven years. Pediatricians say the pandemic led to children falling behind on their vaccinations and many still haven’t caught up.
