FL Quack Surgeon General: Opposition to Vaccines is ‘God’s Plan’
DELRAY BEACH, FL- Truth Wins Out accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of failing to protect his constituents by habitually elevating politics over public health. An in-depth Sun Sentinel expose, by reporters Cindy Krischer Goodman and Caroline Catherman, revealed that DeSantis’ handpicked Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, believes that his crusade against Covid vaccines is “God’s Plan”.
“Florida is providing malpractice disguised as medicine, with medieval minds guiding our public health decisions,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Delray Beach-based Truth Wins Out. “Ron DeSantis and Joseph Ladapo are replacing science with superstition. They have dangerously elevated faith-based fantasies over medical facts. The result is a public health disaster and a loss of trust in our health system.”
Wayne Besen’s Tik Tok videos critiquing Gov. DeSantis have more than one-million views. His latest video on Joseph Ladapo has more than 45,000 views. Besen, an LGBTQ South Florida activist will launch a new website next week educating Americans about the dire threat posed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Earlier this month, Besen wrote an op-ed for the Sun Sentinel urging Florida’s LGBTQ community to resist a rollback of our rights.
The Sun Sentinel article reports that DeSantis’ and Ladapo’s policies are having a negative impact on health outcomes: Florida’s COVID-19 vaccine rate was on par with the rest of the nation during the shots’ initial rollout, but now lags behind other states, CDC data indicates. About 17% of U.S. residents have gotten an updated booster shot, compared with about 12% of Florida residents. COVID-19 vaccination rates for children 6 months to 4 years old range from 2% to 36% by state. Florida is at 4%, according to a February CDC report.
Joseph Ladapo is under fire and he’s accused of personally altering studies to falsely make it appear that some Covid-19 vaccines are dangerous. In fact, it was well established by the scientific community that the vaccines were safe. In introducing Ladapo, DeSantis said: “You’ve seen him fighting the good fight not just on behalf of evidence-based medicine but on behalf of medical freedom.”
“Ron DeSantis put our families’ health in the hands of a radicalized zealot who places superstition above science,” said TWO’s Besen. “Shame on the governor for playing politics with peoples’ lives.”
Ladapo is also an inconsiderate and medically unsound lout, who refused to wear a mask in 2021 when meeting with Sen. Tina Polsky, a cancer survivor. Ladapo was celebrated by former FOX News host Tucker Carlson on a December 2021 show. Carlson lauded Ladapo by saying, “I cannot wait until you run HHS [Health and Human Services]. I will come to your swearing-in. Doctor, thank you.”
The Sun Sentinel reports: In 2020, Ladapo signed the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for people to build an immunity to COVID through natural infection when possible, in order to reach herd immunity, rather than isolating or wearing face masks. Ladapo’s participation caused a deep schism with his colleagues during his tenure at UCLA.
Ladapo’s fanaticism has led to a financial windfall. His subservience to DeSantis’ ideological battles landed him a plum job at the University of Florida, as well as the Surgeon General’s job. His total annual salary is more than a half million dollars.
“As a 1993 University of Florida graduate, I’m extremely concerned that Ladapo’s affiliation with UF is devaluing my degree and debasing my beloved university,” added TWO’s Wayne Besen.
Founded in 2006, Truth Wins Out works to eliminate anti-LGBTQ prejudice and discrimination, as well as all forms of hate and bigotry. We fight against fascism and speak out against right wing extremism.
[Ron DeSantis is also under fire for having his rubber stamp Republican legislative puppets shield his travel from public view]