Over 350 doctors from across Florida signed on to a letter asking the Florida Senate to scrutinize Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. The doctors took part in the effort alongside the Committee to Protect Health Care (CPHC), as they outlined numerous questions regarding Ladapo’s positions.
Ladapo, upon announcing his appointment to the position, said Florida is “done with fear” and began a process of pushing back against universal mask mandates and vaccine mandates. He was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and some DeSantis opponents called Ladapo “an anti-masker and a vaccine skeptic.”
In their letter, the CPHC criticized Ladapo’s stances regarding masks, alternative treatments to COVID, and backing natural immunity.
-
- “What evidence does Dr. Ladapo have to oppose universal mask wearing in schools, contradicting recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association?
- What relationship does Dr. Ladapo have with the group America’s Frontline Doctors, which has extracted millions of dollars from tens of thousands of Americans by selling ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, which are ineffective and even potentially dangerous treatments against COVID-19 that AFLDS has promoted and continues to promote?
- Does Dr. Ladapo believe that promoting natural immunity through widespread infections, which could lead to tens of thousands of additional deaths in Florida, is preferable to vaccinations, and why?”
The CPHC is criticizing Ladapo’s stances despite more and more evidence being released indicating the conventional guidance from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is incorrect.
The University of Louisville has published studies this year indicating universal mask wearing did not reduce the transmission of COVID. Another study from the American Institute for Economic Research found prolonged mask wearing among children actually led to “tremendous psychological damage.”
The CPHC also falsely claimed ivermectin is ineffective at treating COVID, when studies show it proves to be significantly more effective with approximately 76-85 percent of respondents taking ivermectin early in their infection showing improvement, and approximately 81-96 percent showing lower mortality rates.
This week, Dr. Harvey Risch, an epidemiologist form Yale University, indicated natural immunity is much more long-lasting that vaccinated immunity.
“People can get infected while the vax is working fully, but they’re relatively protected from very severe outcomes, which is a good thing, by and large, for the people who take it. But they really need much more natural immunity from the infection going forward, in order to prevent what they’re seeing. And they need that natural immunity to combat other viruses, other strains that may be coming as well. And for longer-lasting protection, natural immunity is much longer lasting that vaxxed immunity.”
The doctors signing on to the letter maintain Ladapo’s positions are “dangerous.”
“As a physician, I’m honestly concerned that Dr. Ladapo’s actions around the pandemic thus far have been not just unhelpful, but dangerous,” said Dr. Bernard Ashby, a Miami cardiologist.
– – –
Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Dr. Joseph Ladapo” by Governor Ron DeSantis.
