In DeSantis’ Florida, Miami doctor learns: Criticize the government at your own risk | Editorial
The suppression of dissent continues in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida.
The latest example: the abrupt removal of a Miami pediatrician from the Florida Healthy Kids board after she dared to publicly criticize the state for delaying access to COVID vaccines for the state’s youngest children.
Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a pediatrician with the University of Miami Health System, is also the president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. And, yes, she did air her concerns in interviews, including in the Miami Herald, about about Florida’s refusal to pre-order COVID-19 shots for infants and toddlers, saying she was “devastated” by the state’s refusal to get the vaccines as quickly as possible.
She told the Herald she was advocating for equal access to the vaccines. “I’m not a politician, I’m a pediatrician. And there’s no other reason for me to do what I do other than to improve the health of children in our state.”
She was far from the only doctor making similar statements. But she was on a state board.
On Wednesday, she told the Herald and other news organizations, she received an email from Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ office saying she would be removed from the board for making “some very political statements that do not reflect the CFO’s point of view.”
Patronis, it should be noted, is running for reelection.
The CFO is a constitutionally elected position. However, this move seems right in line with the DeSantis administration’s tactics.
Florida is the only state to refuse to pre-order the vaccines for children under 5. DeSantis has said the refusal is consistent with his administration’s position that vaccinating young children is not “appropriate,” as the Miami Herald reported.
But using the power of the state to squelch or punish a medical professional making, yes, a contrary statement based on her professional expertise and experience is wrong. Florida is not a private corporation where you have to mouth whatever the boss says to stay employed. Nor is it one-man rule, no matter how much DeSantis & Co. act like it is.
Removing a doctor from a state board because she criticized the state? That sounds a lot like the tactic of an authoritarian regime.
This editorial was updated to reflect that the CFO’s position is a constitutionally elected office.
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This story was originally published July 1, 2022 at 1:13 PM.