Miami High School Rumored To Be In the Middle of a Measles Outbreak
At least one student has been rumored to have tested positive.
Published March 6 2025, 4:28 p.m. ET
Families in one section of Miami-Dade County are on high alert after a case of measles was detected in a local high school.
Parents and caregivers were made aware of the case via a statement from a state health official, which explained the situation to those who may have been exposed. Measles is a highly contagious — and sometimes deadly — virus that spreads especially quickly among the unvaccinated.
Continue reading to learn more about the measles outbreak in one Miami school, including what the state's surgeon general is, and isn't, telling families to do in order to stay safe and protect themselves against exposure to the virus.
Miami's Palmetto Senior High School has announced that a student tested positive for measles.
Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida's highest ranking health official, made families of Palmetto Senior High School students aware that a student had tested positive for measles. The letter was sent on Mar. 4, 2025, and according to a post on Reddit, it alerted families that a single student had been diagnosed.
The electronic notification went on to explain that measles can transmit easily to unvaccinated people, and that the school district would be taking all of the necessary precautions to protect the rest of the student body.
Additionally, the alert stated that anyone believed to have close contact with the infected student would be notified directly.
But the one thing the letter didn't do was to enforce the standard guidelines for a case like this. According to ABC News, typically in a situation like this, any unvaccinated individuals would be instructed to remain out of school for around 21 days, which is the amount of time that the virus could still infect a vulnerable person.
Instead, Dr. Ladapo simply referenced the recommendations, leaving the decision about staying home in the hands of parents.
"Due to the high immunity rate in the school, as well as the burden on families and educational cost of healthy children missing school, DOH is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance," his statement read.
Florida's measles case comes as other states experience their own outbreaks.
While it's unusual to hear about measles cases in this day and age thanks to the benefits of childhood vaccinations, 2025 kicked off with an atypical outbreak in the state of Texas.
The Texas Department of State Health Services notes that kids and teens were among the bulk of the states 159 cases as of Mar. 4, 2025, according to ABC News.
The Lone Star State isn't the only one seeing spots. According to ABC News, there are nine other states that have reported measles outbreaks to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The news of these outbreaks come at a time when public health has been highly politicized, and many people find the topic of vaccinations to be a very sensitive subject.
However, given the number of preventable deaths that occur each year thanks to a lack of vaccination — the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's blog says that between 2021-2024 there were several million people killed by infectious diseases, and of the 1.5 million children included in that number, most could've been prevented with vaccines — it seems like it may be time to put politics aside and focus on the science... at least where our kids are concerned.