House Bill hb0871c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 871
By the Committee on Colleges & Universities and
Representatives Hogan and Waters
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to immunizations; creating s.
3 381.0421, F.S.; requiring individuals enrolled
4 in a postsecondary educational institution to
5 be provided information regarding meningococcal
6 meningitis vaccine; requiring such individuals,
7 if they will be residing in on-campus housing,
8 to provide documentation of vaccination against
9 meningococcal meningitis or sign a waiver
10 stating they have received and reviewed
11 information about the vaccination but have
12 chosen not to be vaccinated; providing an
13 effective date.
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15 WHEREAS, meningococcal meningitis is a serious disease
16 that can lead to death within only a few hours of onset, and
17 WHEREAS, meningococcal meningitis is a highly
18 contagious but largely preventable infection of the spinal
19 cord fluid and the fluid that surrounds the brain, and
20 WHEREAS, one in 10 cases of meningococcal meningitis is
21 fatal, and
22 WHEREAS, one in seven survivors is left with a severe
23 handicap, such as loss of a limb, mental retardation,
24 paralysis, deafness, or seizures, and
25 WHEREAS, individuals of any age can carry the disease
26 for days, weeks, or months unknowingly or without becoming
27 ill, and
28 WHEREAS, at any time, from 10 to 25 percent of the
29 population carries meningococcal meningitis, and
30 WHEREAS, scientific evidence suggests that college
31 students living in dormitory facilities are six times more
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 871
184-320-02
1 likely than other individuals to contract meningococcal
2 meningitis, and
3 WHEREAS, immunization against meningococcal meningitis
4 will decrease the risk of disease, and
5 WHEREAS, the Legislature recommends that college
6 freshmen residing in on-campus housing be vaccinated against
7 meningococcal meningitis, NOW, THEREFORE,
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9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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11 Section 1. Section 381.0421, Florida Statutes, is
12 created to read:
13 381.0421 Vaccination against meningococcal
14 meningitis.--
15 (1) A postsecondary educational institution shall
16 provide detailed information on the risks associated with
17 meningococcal meningitis, and the availability, effectiveness,
18 and known contraindications of any required or recommended
19 vaccine against meningococcal meningitis, to each student, or
20 to the student's parent or guardian if the student is a minor,
21 who has been accepted for admission.
22 (2) An individual enrolled in a postsecondary
23 educational institution who will be residing in on-campus
24 housing shall provide documentation of vaccination against
25 meningococcal meningitis or may, if the individual is 18 years
26 of age or older, sign a waiver provided by the institution
27 stating that he or she has received and reviewed the
28 information provided and has chosen not to be vaccinated
29 against meningococcal meningitis. If the individual is a
30 minor, his or her parent or guardian may sign the waiver
31 provided by the institution.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 871
184-320-02
1 (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
2 require any postsecondary educational institution to provide
3 or pay for vaccinations against meningococcal meningitis.
4 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
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