What Ladapo’s time as Florida surgeon general says about how he’d act as HHS secretary
Gov. Ron DeSantis wants Florida’s top health official to become the nation’s top health official.
From the moment DeSantis appointed Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo in 2021, it was clear that Ladapo had little interest in following the medical mainstream.
In the three years he has worked in Florida, Ladapo has bucked federal health guidance multiple times, and has stood lockstep with DeSantis on other health-related issues like opposing marijuana and prohibiting the medical treatment of gender dysphoria in children.
On social media, DeSantis suggested Ladapo could be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the President Donald Trump administration.
It’s unclear if Trump agrees with the suggestion — but here’s what some of Ladapo’s health policies have looked like in Florida.
COVID-19 vaccines
Ladapo has repeatedly cast doubt on the safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, often offering guidance that ran counter to the President Joe Biden administration’s recommendations.
In 2021, Ladapo wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal where he said that the risks of a COVID-19 vaccine may outweigh their benefit for low-risk populations, such as children, young adults and people who have already had COVID.
In Florida, Ladapo’s guidance has followed that same thinking. In 2022, Ladapo said healthy children should not get the coronavirus vaccine, citing several studies — but at least four experts whose work was cited said that Ladapo took their research out of context and accused him of “cherry picking” information.
Later that year, some scientists also criticized a Florida Department of Health study Ladapo used to recommend against mRNA vaccines for men ages 18-39. Critics said that report relied on imperfect data and did not properly explain its methodology.
And this year, when Ladapo advised doctors against giving out mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, medical experts refuted his claims.
Marijuana and abortion
One of DeSantis’ top priorities this year was defeating a constitutional amendment that would allow people to recreationally use marijuana and one that would protect abortion access until viability.
In his fight against the amendments, DeSantis leaned on Ladapo, who appeared at news conferences speaking out against marijuana.
Ladapo said drugs, including marijuana, diminish the ability for people to “be representations of God’s love.”
He also recommended that doctors use a routine drug testing program for pediatric patients, guidance that came out just a few weeks ahead of the election where voters would decide on the recreational marijuana amendment.
And while Ladapo was more involved in the fight against the marijuana amendment, the Department of Health was also enlisted into the fight against the abortion amendment.
The health department’s general counsel sent a letter to TV stations warning that if they did not stop running a pro-abortion amendment advertisement, they could face possible criminal prosecution for creating a “sanitary nuisance.”
Transgender care
Florida’s political and medical leaders, including Ladapo, created policies that prohibit minors from receiving medical care for gender dysphoria.
Ladapo urged Florida’s medical boards to begin setting rules to deal with medical treatment for gender dysphoric minors.
Florida’s move to restrict access to treatment goes against the guidance of major medical organizations, like the American Academy of Pediatrics. In a letter he sent to board members, Ladapo said that medical standards allowing for those treatments seemed to be based in “political ideology.”
Ladapo also has advised against social transitions for minors — things such as using a different name, pronouns or style of dress — as a treatment option.