Florida surgeon general, attacked by Left, promises state won't be 'senseless' in COVID response

close

Video

Florida surgeon general comes under attack from the left

Dr. Joseph Ladapo explains on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' why the left's targeting him as he makes 'data-based decisions about public health in Florida.'

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo promised Wednesday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that the Sunshine State's officials are "not going to be senseless" in their approach to the state's continued response to COVID-19.

"We're going to be making data-based decisions about public health in Florida," he said. "We're not going to be senseless, which characterizes what this past year and a half have been."

DESANTIS: WE ARE ACTIVELY RECRUITING OUT-OF-STATE POLICE OFFICERS OUT OF JOB DUE TO VACCINE MANDATES

Ladapo said the data do not support "this obsession with masking kids in school," calling the evidence in favor of school mask mandates "very weak." He said there's "really no evidence of a health benefit" to masked children, nor any "solid evidence" supporting cloth masks.

"Where benefit has been shown, it's primarily been with surgical masks," he said. "But…Americans have unfortunately been just slammed constantly with this message that you must mask these children. But…we haven't asked enough about the high-quality data, and…it doesn't support it. And we don't do it in Florida." 

Carlson began the interview by asking Ladapo why he is "hated and is being attacked from every side all of a sudden." The physician replied that he's "not sure" why he is being attacked, saying "we could ask the people who are attacking me." 

The Washington Post said Ladapo has a "controversial history that included not just opposing vaccine mandates, but downplaying the importance of vaccines." Politico pointed to Democrat politicians' belief that his hiring was "purely political." NBC News accused the Harvard-educated surgeon general of "invok[ing]…unsubstantiated conspiracy theories to argue against the vaccines."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Ladapo noted Florida's "tremendous amount of success already" under Gov. Ron DeSantis and vowed that "nothing anyone says is going to change the approach that we take to public health."

The state now has the fewest daily COVID cases per capita, according to Yahoo News.