In early October, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo added to his list of dubious pronouncements: The controversial physician recommended that males between the ages of 18 and 39 avoid commonly used mRNA Covid vaccines, pointing to a dubious study that had been widely panned by qualified professionals.
David Gorski, a surgical oncologist and debunker of anti-vaccine nonsense, wrote soon after, “This is the first time that we’ve seen a state government weaponize bad science to spread anti-vaccine disinformation as official policy.” He went on to describe the move from Florida’s surgeon general as “a dangerous new escalation in anti-vaccine propaganda.”
But while Lapado’s move was widely seen as provocative at the time, there’s new reason to question the details surrounding his decision. Politico reported on a previously undisclosed investigation:
The Florida Department of Health’s inspector general last fall investigated Joseph Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, after the agency received an anonymous complaint alleging he falsified a report focusing on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for young men. Among other things, the complainant alleged Ladapo committed “scientific fraud” and “manipulated data” in a report….
Ladapo denied any wrongdoing, though he apparently had a critic with a credible perspective: Politico’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, noted that the unnamed individual who filed the complaint with the inspector general’s office “appeared to have detailed knowledge of state health agencies.”
The November complaint against Ladapo asked the inspector general to speak with employees at the state Department of Health Communicable Disease Division, who helped write earlier drafts of the report that was eventually released. Emails were kept to a minimum, the complainant wrote, and notes were hand-delivered. “You may not find these documents by email, as they get transmitted by…
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