Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday attempted to deflect from the Florida surgeon general’s behavior toward a state senator who has breast cancer — he refused to wear a mask in her state Capitol office.
DeSantis mentioned photos circulating on social media showing state Sen. Tina Polsky without a mask in close proximity with other people around the time she kicked the surgeon general out of her office after he refused to don a face mask.
She has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer and feared her immune system had been suppressed. DeSantis’ wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, also is under treatment for breast cancer.
“There’s pictures very close with no mask in other instances. I don’t see people talking about that. So, I think this was more they’re trying to politicize this. I think he offered a lot of accommodations and I think that is something that is appropriate to do,” DeSantis said.
“I would also say, you know, Joe Ladapo, he’s already made a huge impact,” he added, saying he referred to a Department of Health rule Ladopo issued in September allowing parents to send their kids to school even if they’ve been exposed to COVID.
The administration argues that keeping them out of school unfairly punished kids who aren’t necessarily sick.
Ladapo, a medical doctor, issued a statement this week explaining that he finds it difficult to communicate while wearing a face mask. He has publicly questioned the utility of vaccines and masks in limiting spread of COVID, in contrast to a broad medical consensus that they help, but his views align with DeSantis’. He is serving as surgeon general pending Senate confirmation.
“You don’t want someone that’s just going to genuflect to the narrative of the day or to listen to these TV doctors that have been wrong on everything from the very beginning,” the governor said.
“They said lock-downs would stop COVID. They lied. They said forced masking would end the pandemic in 2020. That was a lie. People said if 50 percent were vaccinated you’d never have any surges, but we, obviously, have seen major surges and we have way more than 50 percent vaccinated in a lot of different places.”
Ladapo’s position “threatens people,” the governor said. “That threatens folks who think they should control the narrative.”
Additionally, the governor said he soon will announce a date in November for the Legislature to meet in special session to punish companies that require vaccination of workers.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/desantis-surgeon-generals-critics-are-trying-to-politicize-covid-policy/
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