DeSantis Taps Anti-Vaxxer As New FL Surgeon General

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a new state surgeon general Tuesday who has written essays questioning the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, the effectiveness of masks and favoring hydroxychloroquine, a drug touted by former President Donald Trump to treat the virus.

“Florida will completely reject fear,” Dr. Joseph Ladapo, an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Medicine who received his doctorate from the Harvard School of Medicine, told reporters in the Capitol. “It doesn’t lead to good decisions.”

Ladapo said he was a signer of the Great Barrington Declaration, a statement from a group of scientists in October 2020 that called for herd immunity through natural infection. Despite the controversy, DeSantis hosted the authors of the declaration at two medical roundtables this spring.

Read the full article.

BREAKING NEWS: Florida’s @GovRonDeSantis appointed a new surgeon general, one who questioned COVID-19 lockdowns, the effective of masks and vaccine safety and favored hydroxychloroquine, a treatment touted by former President Donald Trump. https://t.co/SGsazjBJpf

— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) September 21, 2021

Ron DeSantis just appointed a doctor as Florida’s next Surgeon General. This doctor claimed that vaccines were “nothing special.”

This is all you need to know about how the Governor is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) September 21, 2021

During a press conference where he announced a new state surgeon general @GovRonDeSantis offered his POV on Biden: “He hates Florida more than anything.”

— Gary Fineout (@fineout) September 21, 2021