TAMPA, Fla. — As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo push to eliminate childhood vaccine mandates in the Sunshine State, neither public official is willing to publicly share whether their own children are vaccinated.
At a recent press conference in Tampa, the governor and the state's top doctor dodged the question about whether their children get vaccinated. Ladapo called the inquiry "silly."
Watch full report from Katie LaGrone
Investigative reporter Katie LaGrone asked the question after she had previously contacted each office and received no response. A governor's spokesperson eventually sent an email stating the following:
"Every parent should have the freedom to decide what vaccines to give their child.”
Earlier this month, the governor and surgeon general announced a controversial push to end vaccine mandates in the state.
"All of them! Every last one of them," Ladapo said as he compared mandated immunizations to slavery.
"Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," he said. "Who am I as a government or anyone else to tell you what you should put in your body?"
The announcement prompted immediate reaction from concerned doctors, elated parents and even a cautious President Donald Trump.
"You have vaccines that work, they just pure and simple work. They're not controversial at all, and I think those vaccines should be used," Trump said following the announcement in Florida.
But while the proposal continues to draw its share of concern and applause, it's also fueling some confusion among parents who aren’t sure if they should continue vaccinating their children if the push to scrap mandates succeeds.
In Florida, children who attend public schools are required to be vaccinated against a series of infections, including polio, mumps, measles and rubella.
On Wednesday, LaGrone asked the two public leaders, who are parents of young children, if they were willing to share if they’re children are vaccinated, if they plan to continue to vaccinate their children and their reasoning behind their personal decisions.
Watch exchange with report Katie LaGrone, Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo
In response, DeSantis laughed and passed the question off to Ladapo to respond.
Ladapo, in turn, said, "So all this media stuff is all new to me, and some of the questions are just so funny."
"This idea of 'Well, do you vaccinate? Did you take the COVID shot? I actually don't care about sharing information about that. I really don't care at all, but I won't, and I won't because I'm not going to participate in the silly games that so much of the media chooses to partake in instead of the substantive parts of the issues," Ladapo said.
While DeSantis has previously admitted to getting the COVID-19 shot when it first came out, his position on the COVID vaccine has since shifted.
Florida's surgeon general has been anything but silent about his own personal stance on the booster.
"They're not fit for human use," he has said about the COVID jab.
Neither has ever disclosed publicly if they’re children receive any vaccinations.
As the two public officials embark on a proposal to make Florida the first state in the country to end childhood vaccine mandates, their personal family vaccination plans appear to be none of the public's business.
"I mean, that's just silly stuff, so I'm not going to participate in that," Ladapo said.
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