Doctors ask right questions of new surgeon general. Will senators?
Gov. Ron DeSantis went doctor shopping for a new surgeon general who thinks like him. Unfortunately, the rest of us now have to live with the consequences of another decision to recklessly play politics with human lives.
Dr. Joseph Ladapo was a California physician with outlandish views on how to manage COVID-19. One of his first acts was to impose an edict that allows parents to send kids to school even after they are exposed to the virus, as long as children have no symptoms. He considers mask mandates overrated, likens mandatory vaccinations to “a religion,” and suggests nutrition and exercise as measures against COVID-19.
In Florida, where nearly 56,000 people have died from the disease, Ladapo’s medical advice could fit on a bumper sticker, and it boils down to this: Don’t wear masks. Don’t get vaccinated. Eat your vegetables.
If DeSantis knew Ladapo at all, it might have been from the doctor’s published writings — not from peer-reviewed medical journals, but on the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, where his op-eds argue that fear of COVID is worse than the virus itself. Pandemic policies “forged in fear and panic,” he wrote last September, “have wrought tremendous damage in exchange for benefits that were attainable at a much lower cost.”
The doctor’s views have touched off a furor in Florida, and rightly so. More than 100 physicians have signed a letter that directly challenges Ladapo’s criticism of mask mandates and asks several questions that he should answer.
Calling themselves the Committee to Protect Health Care, the doctors are from Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Delray Beach and communities all over the state. Three doctors who signed the letter are on the faculty at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine, where Ladapo was offered a tenured professorship as part of his state employment contract that will pay him $512,000 a year — nearly four times as much as the governor.
Among the doctors’ questions: What evidence does Ladapo have to oppose universal mask wearing? What are his connections to America’s Frontline Doctors, which profited from selling ivermectin and Donald Trump’s favorite non-cure, hydroxychloroquine? Does Ladapo believe in natural herd immunity, which could lead to tens of thousands more deaths? Does he disagree with DeSantis on any pandemic policies? What’s his plan to lower health disparities for underserved groups?
Floridians should be grateful that these medical experts demand science-based solutions and for their willingness to speak truth to power, even if it risks political retribution from Republicans in Tallahassee. (We too asked the state Department of Health for a chance to interview Ladapo, on Sept. 23. No response).
The point of the doctors’ letter was to get the attention of the Florida Senate, which will hold confirmation hearings on Ladapo during the 60-day session that begins on Jan. 11. Senators have the responsibility of fully vetting the governor’s choice, and he needs to be confirmed if he intends to keep his job.
The Senate Health Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, is a logical place for a rigorous dissection of Ladapo’s ideas about public health. Three of the panel’s four Democrats are from South Florida: Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Plantation; Sen. Shevrin Jones of West Park; and Sen. Bobby Powell of West Palm Beach. The fourth Democrat, Sen. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, is married to a physician.
Former Surgeon General Scott Rivkees quit in August after nearly two years of unparalleled obscurity, at a time when Floridians needed a forceful public health advocate, not slogans and sound bites. In a September editorial, we implored DeSantis to get it right in choosing a replacement for Rivkees. The result was Ladapo. How’s that for a second opinion?