Florida’s surgeon general Joseph Ladapo admitted that the state’s health department didn’t do any data analysis on the possible impact removing vaccine mandates might have on Florida’s broader health.
“Ultimately, this is an issue very clearly of parents’ rights,” Ladapo said Sunday on CNN. “So do I need to analyze whether it’s appropriate for parents to be able to decide what goes into their children’s bodies? I don’t need to do an analysis on that.”
Ladapo’s admission comes a few days after he announced Wednesday that Florida would soon become the first state to end all vaccine mandates, including the mandates required for children to attend public schools. He compared the vaccine mandates to slavery during a news conference announcing the decision.
On Sunday, Ladapo, who rose to prominence in 2020 for being skeptic of COVID-19 prevention and treatment, was grilled by CNN’s Jake Tapper on the decision, deflecting a question about preparing hospitals for possible disease outbreaks, and instead saying again it’s a parents’ rights issue to have “ultimate authority over what happens to their kids’ bodies.”
He said Florida has outbreaks like any other state, so there’s no new “special procedures” that need to be made.
