Dr. Joseph Ladapo's anti-vaxx stance growing stale. Florida needs a new surgeon general.

Here we go again: Florida facing another dangerous virus, while the state's top health official thumbs his nose at conventional medical wisdom. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo is drawing warranted criticism for his initial lax response to the state's measles outbreak. Instead of urging parents to vaccinate their children, he waffled, leaving the decision to the parents with a hint at an anti-vax stance that made him infamous during COVID-19.

Ladapo's response is the latest in what has been a three-year string of controversy that has undermined the surgeon general's office and the Florida Department of Health. Whether it's altering a medical study to support fringe thinking or ignoring a request to put on a mask during the height of the pandemic by state Sen. Tina Polsky, D. Boca Raton, whose breast cancer made her susceptible to COVID. The Ladapo era in Florida must end.

More: Florida surgeon general defies CDC recommendations as measles cases spread in state

Florida deserves a credible public health leader, not an ongoing embarrassment. Right now, the state is stuck with a political appointee who's taking up space but not taking the job or his craft seriously. The Palm Beach Post editorial board believes it's time for a change. The Governor, and more importantly the state, needs a new surgeon general.

Up until now, Gov. Ron DeSantis seems OK with his appointee's performance. The Governor needed a shill to buttress an anti-COVID mandate schtick that became part of DeSantis' ill-fated presidential campaign. Meanwhile more than 81,000 Floridians died from COVID. Will the Governor make the change? Probably not, unless the spread of measles forces his hand. It shouldn't have to come to that. Ladapo's performance is enough to justify replacement.

Measles spread helped by misinformation

Prior to the 1963 Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine, nearly every child living in the U.S. had measles by the time they reached 15, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.. CDC data showed between 3 million to 4 million people were affected each year, with 500 dying and 48,000 persons hospitalized.

Why measles is making a comeback isn't a head-scratcher. It only takes two doses of the MMR vaccine, which is 97% effective, to prevent the disease, and there are many more vaccinated against measles in Florida than not. It's the contagion of misinformation undermining proven medical vaccines that has taken a toll on the nation's progress toward eradicating dangerous diseases. In his role, Ladapo has done more than enough to become modern medicine's chief cheerleader of misinformation.

Gov. DeSantis selected Ladapo from the University of California David Geffen School of Medicine in 2021, to replace former Surgeon General Scott Rivkees. The appointment came with $250,000 in pay to head the Florida Department of Health and another $262,000 as a professor of medicine at the University of Florida. It was a controversial pick to say the least.

Ladapo's association with America's Frontline Doctors, a controversial group of physicians known for questionable cures drew criticism, as has his constant criticism of COVID vaccines and masks as effective treatments. His quick appointment to the university, along with an inability to produce grants, ultimately drew the ire of his UF colleagues. As surgeon general, he altered a state study last year to suggest that some COVID-19 doses pose higher health risks for young men than what's been established by the medical community. In January, he called on the federal government to halt using the mRNA vaccine, describing it as the “anti-Christ” of all products.

The surgeon general's initial response to the measles outbreak was a muddled equivocation of a Feb. 20 advisory to Broward County parents that careened from acknowledging what "is normally recommended" to deferring any decision regarding school attendance to the parents. Ambiguity isn't the typical response to a potential public-health crisis. Under normal circumstances, public health officials would follow federal guidelines in urging unvaccinated children to either get a MMR shot or stay at home until any symptoms subside without medication.

Ladapo's pandemic track record and his more recent response regarding measles vaccinations leave us wondering if he will ever shake off the anti-vaccination pandering to do his job as a public health official effectively. We're not convinced he will. For those reasons, we believe Florida would be better off with a new surgeon general.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Replace Dr. Joseph Ladapo. Florida deserves a new surgeon general