Nigerian Born and Controversial Florida Surgeon General Defies CDC Guidance Amid School Measles Outbreak

Reposted from HealthDay

FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2024 -- Amid an outbreak of measles at a Florida elementary school, the state's surgeon general has defied federal health guidance and told parents it's up to them whether they want to keep their unvaccinated child home to avoid infection.

In a letter to parents of children attending Manatee Bay Elementary school in Weston, where six cases of measles have already been reported, Florida surgeon general, Nigerian born Dr. Joseph Ladapo said the state health department “is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance.”

That advice runs counter to what Ladapo acknowledged in his letter was the “normal” recommendation that parents keep unvaccinated children home for up to 21 days -- the incubation period for measles.

This is not the first time that Ladapo has challenged health recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Last month, he called for halting the use of COVID vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.

Ben Hoffman, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Washington Post that Florida’s new guidance flies in the face of standard public health guidance for measles, a disease that can result in severe complications and even death.

“It runs counter to everything I have ever heard and everything that I have read,” Hoffman said. “It runs counter to our policy. It runs counter to what the [CDC] would recommend.”

Go to Original

Published: February 24, 2024

© 2024. Datelinehealth Africa Inc. All rights reserved.

Permission is given to copy, use and share content for non-commercial purposes without alteration or modification and subject to attribution as to source.