Mary Bowden warns Ladapo’s future remains uncertain as he challenges mRNA shots. Donalds has praised him without guaranteeing reappointment.
Florida’s next governor, Byron Donalds, has not guaranteed Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo another term. Dr. Mary Talley Bowden warned Thursday that Ladapo is waiting to learn whether Donalds will keep him.
“Dr. Ladapo is in a tenuous situation,” Bowden said. She praised him for continuing to challenge mRNA COVID shots despite that uncertainty. “This is integrity,” she said.
Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to succeed Ron DeSantis. In August, he praised Ladapo but put personnel decisions off until after the election.
“His courage and willingness to defend medical freedom have been unmatched,” Donalds said in an interview with Florida’s Voice. He remained open to retaining Ladapo, but did not commit.
Ladapo made his own position clear. “I would be honored to continue serving under a Byron Donalds administration, and I wish him the best of luck in the upcoming election,” he said in the same report.
DeSantis appointed Ladapo in 2021. Ladapo has since fought vaccine mandates and pushed to remove four school and child-care immunization requirements through a proposed rule change.
“Our role is to provide families with clear information and access to care, not to substitute government mandates for informed decision-making,” Ladapo said in October.