WESTON, Fla. — A Florida lawmaker called for state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to step down during a press conference Tuesday on safety measures for measles vaccination.
Florida U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz voiced her concerns about Ladapo's advice to parents amid a measles outbreak at a Broward County school.
Surgeon General Ladapo emphasized what he called “freedom of choice” in a letter sent last week to parents of students at Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston.
He cited the high immunity rate in the community as well as the potential “burden on families and educational cost of healthy children missing school,” when advising parents on whether to take their children to school or to keep them home.
A ninth person reportedly caught the disease earlier in the week in the county; 10 total cases were reported in the state, including one case in Polk County, according to the Florida Department of Health.
“Our state leaders are failing us,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Surgeon General Ladapo needs to go.”
She said the surgeon general refuses to uphold the basic tenets of public health to ensure people are properly informed.
“We need strong public health information and action in Florida or people will die,” Wasserman Schultz said.
She attributed CDC guidelines on the importance of vaccinations to combat the measles disease, which lingers in the air long after the infected person leaves a room.
Wasserman Schultz also talked about Ladapo’s and Gov. Ron Desantis’ “actions and misinformation” that warned Florida residents against taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
She also called on epidemiologist Dr. Mary Jo Trepka and the legislative chair of Florida's parent-teacher association, Latha Krishnaiyer, to discuss disease prevention involving the continuing spread of measles.
Krishnaiyer emphasized the importance of staying aware of recent guidelines and information released by health experts.
“We are here to support the immunization of children to prevent further spread of this disease,” Krishnaiyer said.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the Florida Department of Health's Tallahassee office for comment, and has not heard back.