Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has stirred controversy by openly admitting that his department did not investigate the link between stopping vaccine mandates and the surge in preventable diseases.

Ladapo, who was crucial in pushing forward the state’s policy to end the mandate, doubled down that his position ‘will never change.’

When questioned on CNN’s State of the Union about whether his team assessed the potential increase in cases if vaccine mandates were lifted, Ladapo responded: ‘Absolutely not.’

He further explained: ‘Do I need to conduct an analysis to determine if it’s suitable for parents to have the choice over what is administered to their children? I don’t need to analyze that.’

The resolute health leader maintained that his viewpoint is based on principle, stating: ‘I will never alter my position since it will always be true that parents should have the authority over what is administered to their kids.’

Ladapo announced the comprehensive repeal alongside Governor Ron DeSantis on September 3, promising to eliminate all of Florida’s vaccine mandates for schoolchildren—regulations that have historically protected against diseases like measles, polio, hepatitis B, and chickenpox.

‘Every single one of them is incorrect and reeks of disdain and control,’ remarked Ladapo, a long-standing vaccine skeptic. ‘Who am I, or any government entity, to decide what your child should receive in their body? That’s not my right.’

‘I have to say just, I’m very … I’m kind of shocked that you have not done any sort of projection or data analysis of what this is actually going to literally mean for kids in Florida,’ CNN Anchor Jake Tapper told Ladapo. 

Florida already trails the national average for childhood immunizations. 

Just 88.7 percent of kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, compared with 92 percent nationwide, according to state and federal data.

At the same time, cases of hepatitis A, chickenpox and whooping cough are on the rise.

Ladapo has dismissed concerns, singling out the whooping cough vaccine as ‘ineffective’ at preventing transmission – a claim rejected by mainstream medical groups.

His refusal to study the link between mandates and outbreaks has drawn condemnation across the political spectrum. 

Fox News medical correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel called the move ‘absurd and disturbing beyond belief,’ while the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Florida Medical Association have all voiced opposition.

Democratic leaders in Florida also blasted the policy on X. 

State Rep. Anna Eskamani called the plan ‘reckless and dangerous’ and ‘a public health disaster in the making,’ while House Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell warned it was ‘stunningly reckless’ and accused DeSantis of ‘trading the health of our kids for media headlines.’

The proposal has been so shocking that even Donald Trump – whose first term oversaw the development of the COVID-19 vaccine – expressed unease. 

Speaking in the Oval Office on September 5, the former president said: ‘I think we have to be very careful. You have some vaccines that are so amazing. You have some vaccines that are so incredible.’

‘Look, you have vaccines that work,’ he continued. ‘They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all, and I think those vaccines should be used, otherwise some people are going to catch it, and they endanger other people.’

The announcement came shortly after DeSantis revealed a new ‘Florida Make America Healthy Again’ commission, designed to align the state with Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial health initiative.