Roughly halfway through his first term, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Dr. Joseph Ladapo to be the state’s Surgeon General. It should have come as no surprise that Dr. Ladapo went to work promoting health policies that were in keeping with the Governor’s own approach to handling the pandemic. These included opposition to vaccine and mask mandates and particularly how such matters should be handled when it comes to children and pediatric healthcare. This has attracted the unfavorable attention of both the FDA and the CDC. This week they sent a letter to Ladapo, warning him that his policies are “harmful to the public.” What they think they can do about the situation has not been specified. (Associated Press)

U.S. health agencies have sent a letter to Florida’s surgeon general, warning him that his claims about COVID-19 risks are harmful to the public.

The letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was sent Friday to Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.

Ladapo was appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021 and has attracted national scrutiny over his close alignment with the governor in opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other health policies embraced by the federal government.

Among Ladapo’s many perceived sins was a set of guidelines he released last year, advising parents to not have healthy children vaccinated against COVID. This is in keeping with the findings of many other doctors who have studied the subject but runs contrary to the federal guidelines that still call for all minors to be vaccinated.

In a separate set of guidelines published by the state Surgeon General, he recommended that healthy young men between the ages of 18 and 39 similarly decline to be vaccinated. He cited concerns over an increased risk of cardiac-related deaths. The CDC and the FDA rejected both of those claims, despite growing bodies of evidence supporting Ladapo’s policies.

It’s worth noting that the Associated Press continues toeing the federal line on these issues. They describe how the federal agencies “debunked” the concerns being raised over cardiac issues among the vaccinated. They also unquestioningly quote federal policies calling for all children to be vaccinated, despite numerous studies showing that healthy children are among the least likely to contract the virus, spread it, or suffer severe effects when they do catch it.

What seems to be missing from the federal government’s criticism of Lapado’s policies is any recognition of the fact that the Florida Surgeon General’s office isn’t mandating anything. Ladapo isn’t forcing anyone to get vaccinated and he isn’t barring anyone from doing so either. He’s providing guidance as a healthcare professional and the state’s residents are free to either follow or disregard that guidance.

That’s pretty much the case with the federal government as well. They can’t actually force anyone to be vaccinated… at least not yet. Sure, they can make it very tough to resist by threatening to cost you your livelihood, ban you from public transport, and generally treat you like a pariah. But they can’t frog-march you into a medical tent and jab a needle in your arm. I’m sure Joe Biden would love to be able to do that, but we haven’t reached that level of totalitarian oppression thus far.

There’s been no official response to the feds’ letter to Ladapo yet. And they probably shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for one. DeSantis clearly selected Ladapo because they were on the same page when it comes to vaccine mandates and other COVID policies. And with the medical community slowly coming around to see things the same way, neither of these men are likely to change their positions now.