Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.Photo: Joe Cavaretta/Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty
Florida’s top public health official is bucking CDC guidelines amid a rise in measles cases at a Ft. Lauderdale school, telling parents in a letter that it’s up to them whether or not their child gets vaccinated, or whether an unvaccinated child stays home from school after getting exposed.
In a letter sent to parents last week, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said that “a cluster of measles cases” had been identified at Manatee Bay Elementary.
But, he continued, “due to the high immunity rate in the community, 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.”
“This recommendation may change as epidemiological investigations continue,” he added.
Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general under Gov. Ron DeSantis.Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
Ladapo has been criticized for his stance on vaccines in the past, and in 2022, announced he would issue guidance making Florida “the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children.”
Ladapo and DeSantis had pointed to therisk of getting myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, from the vaccine. However,the CDChas said that cases of myocarditis “have rarely been reported, especially in adolescents and young adult males within several days after” vaccination. Additionally, the few who developed it have generally “responded well to medicine and rest and felt better quickly.”
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The Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics called Ladapo’s announcement about the COVID vaccine “irresponsible.”
source: people.com
