Vaccines

Respiratory viruses like COVID-19 spread more effectively in colder temperatures, putting younger children and older adults at greater risk for infection.

Trump's pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS worries pediatricians. In Florida, the childhood vaccination rate is decreasing more rapidly under a Surgeon General who is skeptical of vaccines.

Anyone who got sick with COVID-19 during the summer wave in South Florida has some protection against a future infection, but not full protection against germs spreading in fall and winter. Infectious disease experts recommend what shots to get now.

Florida, like states across the country, has declining immunization rates among kindergarten students. As classes resume, health care providers are urging parents or guardians to protect their children against potentially fatal diseases like measles.

The Florida Department of Health provides free shots for kids on weekdays throughout the year.

It starts earlier and runs longer than anywhere else in the U.S., according to UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute. Most older adults, who are vulnerable to the disease, haven’t been vaccinated yet.

The spread of an avian flu virus in cattle has again brought public health attention to the potential for a global pandemic. Fighting it would depend, for now, on 1940s technology that makes vaccines from hens’ eggs.

Scare tactics haven’t shifted, but more parents are falling for them. Here’s what the rhetoric gets wrong and how it endangers children.

The guidance is in stark contrast to statements by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo against vaccination and mask wearing — particularly when it comes to COVID-19.

The young scientists from Viera wanted to learn whether a component in horseshoe blood can detect bacteria in space. Judges selected the project to ride up in a SpaceX rocket to the ISS.

The short answer is yes, but a Florida expert weighs in on how you should receive the vaccines this season ahead of another possible tripledemic.

Florida is seeing an increase of RSV positivity rates. For most, the virus is mild — but experts say the virus can be more severe for infants, young children and older adults.