Florida’s top doctor refuses to act like a doctor in vaccine mandate debacle | Opinion
Science misfit
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said, “Who am I to tell you . . . what you should put in your body?” That is astounding. Quite frankly sir, we have been asking medical and scientific professionals to do that very thing for more than a century. We all benefit from listening to the results of years of rigorous medical studies on vaccines, prescriptions, vitamins, cigarettes and alcohol. This is not “slavery,” as Ladapo called it. This is scientifically-driven guidance; this is leadership. If Ladapo would take a moment to look at childhood mortality rates from circa 1900, he would see that children under five in the U.S. had a 30% chance of dying, according to CDC statistics. What major contributing factor changed that high mortality? Childhood vaccines! The world of science has no party affiliation. We should be electing leaders who understand that and who work to keep our families safe. Julie Hanrahan, Miami
Stadium deal sinks
Re: the Sept. 5 Herald online story, “CEO bid-rigging indictment and other concerns halt Miami Marine Stadium deal.” Very sad that after all the time, effort, passion and money put into restoring this treasure, it is now facing another obstacle. Where was the City of Miami’s due diligence? Harry E. Gottlieb, Coconut Grove
Body and soul
The Miami Herald’s Sept. 4 front page headline, “Florida aims to be first in U.S. to end all vaccine mandates,” expressed warnings about the dangers to citizens and especially school children this will cause. When introducing his plan to an assembled audience, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said, “Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God. I don’t have that right. Government does not have that right. They want you to believe they have that right and unfortunately they’ve been successful.” So the government can’t dictate what you do with your body. Does that also apply to women? Jay Arnold, Coral Gables
Caustic behavior
Florida’s immigration policies are no longer just misguided — they’re morally corrosive. As a father who’s raised his son in this state, I’ve watched with heartbreak as families are detained, children separated and dignity stripped away under the guise of enforcement. These aren’t isolated incidents — they’re systemic failures that betray our values. We claim to be a state of freedom, yet we criminalize presence. We speak of safety, yet we ignore the trauma inflicted on those caught in bureaucratic machinery. This isn’t just about politics, it’s about people. Scripture calls us to “remember those in prison as if you were together with them.” That’s not a metaphor, it’s a mandate to see the humanity in every person, regardless of status. Florida must choose a better path — one rooted in compassion, consistency and justice. Our children are watching. So are the families we’ve failed. Dan Caudill, Royal Palm Beach
Pox Americana
While attending an American history course at the excellent University of Miami’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which is designed for older returning students, I discovered our nation very well might not exist as an independent nation were it not for a mandated vaccination effort against smallpox. Some may think it is un-American to require a citizen, young or old, to be vaccinated. Nope. It is the very thing that helped make America, America. Sid Kaskey, South Miami
Business under duress
In his Sept. 3 story, “How Miami-Dade ranked in fastest-growing counties for small business in America,” Herald reporter Michael Butler wrote that “Miami-Dade County is now ranked the No. 1 county in the United States in the number of small businesses planning to open,” according to research by Clarify Capital. Broward County also is among the top three counties nationwide for small businesses opening. With South Florida taking two of those top spots, another list is worth noting, one far less exciting but potentially related: counties with the highest percentage of rent-burdened residents. According to a Consumer Affairs piece published in September, Broward County is tops in the nation in that statistic, followed closely by Miami-Dade.
Spending more than 30% of income on rent is a dangerous step toward eviction. Could it be that South Florida’s small business growth is being driven by the desperation of residents needing multiple income streams to simply avoid eviction? If so, this is another reason why Miami-Dade must not only match last year’s $2 million funding for the Eviction Diversion Program, but increase it to the $3 million County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava promised constituents in April. Philip Cardella, Miami
Firing overdue
On Aug. 7, Peter Navarro, senior counselor for trade and manufacturing to President Trump, commented about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in The Hill, “Even though he leads the world’s largest economy, he is a lawyer, not an economist — an anomaly among Fed chairs.”
It’s unsettling that on my first day in macroeconomics class, I had more formal education in economics than the guy steering our $30 trillion economy. Maybe if Powell had a degree in economics, he’d know that the price of a new car means nothing to those who were laid off, because high interest rates made it impossible for the company they work for to expand. I’ve been there, Powell has not.
Maybe he’d also realize that competition between banks should be the sole determinant of interest rates and that our economy will never “overheat” as long as there’s sufficient competition and low energy prices. Maybe he’d also figure out that the CPI calculation is based on the assumption that consumers are naive and will keep buying things over and over regardless of price.
Future economists will have a good laugh over the way we’ve let a private entity take control of our economy for 112 years.
Ben Furleigh,
Port Charlotte
Pied pipers
Florida has once again become the laughing stock of the nation! Our public health officials are leading the state down the path of death and destruction. Apparently, they have forgotten we all live in one big community, state, country and world together. My thanks to Gov. DeSantis and Surgeon General Ladapo for taking our state to a new low. I hope they will take credit for the resurgence of illnesses and diseases that had previously been held in check. I’m glad DeSantis’ children were required to be vaccinated; it is the proper choice to keep everyone safe. Marsha Broad, Miami
Humans and bears
I thank ZooMiami’s Communication Director Ron Magill for his informative Aug. 21 op-ed, “I strongly disagree with Florida’s black bear hunt.”
As a 92-year resident of Miami-Dade County, I had no personal knowledge of black bears until family members moved to central Florida 30 years ago. They have learned to coexist respectfully with their bear neighbors, who previously were the sole occupants of that area.
I am disappointed in the Florida Fish and Wildlife “Conservation” Commission.
Doris J. Rudnick,
Aventura
Weird science
Reading about Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s decision to end vaccine mandates for school children was frightful. These children will face an increased risk of contracting diseases such as measles, mumps. diphtheria and polio and passing them on to their classmates.
Ladapo has given similarly weird health advice in the past, but this one promises to have serious consequences for thousands of our children. Unless it is reversed quickly, we can look forward to catastrophic epidemics that have not been part of our public health scene for the past hundred years.
Hopefully, Gov. DeSantis will step in and reverse this dangerous mandate before it is too late. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t count on that.
Daniel Greenberg,
Pinecrest
Imaginary numbers
It is a shame and very sad that President Trump has not been given the Nobel Peace Prize for all he has done. I say we should increase tariffs on Norway and Sweden to 90% until he gets his award. Then we can lower tariffs by 150%. Or more.
Howard Graubard,
Cooper City