The Florida Surgeon General Who Likens Vaccine Mandates To Slavery [View all]
BBC News, Sept. 4, 2025.
The surgeon general of Florida has vowed to end vaccine mandates in the state, even for children, announcing plans on Wednesday to wipe "all of them, every last one of them" off the books.
Dr Joseph Ladapo, who likened the requirements to slavery during the announcement, is a noted vaccine sceptic.
He gained national attention after he was appointed Florida's doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic for issuing notices that contradicted guidance from federal health authorities and also for seeming to rely on shaky science.
Earlier this year, he was also one of the top names under consideration by the Trump administration to run the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). As President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr push to change the country's vaccine and immunisation policies, Ladapo is poised to be given even more national attention, and scrutiny.
An immigrant with two degrees from Harvard
Ladapo, who immigrated with his family to the US from Nigeria when he was five, received his medical training and a PhD in health policy from Harvard University. Along with heading Florida's health department, he teaches medicine at the University of Florida and conducts research on minimising cardiovascular risk among disadvantaged and low-income groups, according to his official state biography.
The Tallahassee Democrat has reported that his total salary, which includes university teaching, is more than $350,000 (£261,000) a year...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62q41qm9pvo
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