"It may yet have to reckon with how the decisions of a relatively small number of individuals will affect the health of entire populations—who may soon have less of a choice about whether they get sick."

#measles #Florida #DeSantis #JosephLadapo #healthcare #vaccines #MAGA
/5

"Now, by all appearances, Florida is testing out a head-in-the-sand approach to measles. ...

DeSantis has pitched Florida as a haven from liberal policies: In 2024, the state posted on its borders signs reading welcome to the free state of florida, advertising its commitment to personal choice."

#measles #Florida #DeSantis #JosephLadapo #healthcare #vaccines #MAGA
/4

"Under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, the state has spent the past few years bucking public-health wisdom. A year ago, when measles spread through a Florida elementary school, Ladapo allowed unvaccinated children to return to class instead of staying home to limit the size of the outbreak; in September, he and DeSantis announced that they intend to do away with all vaccine mandates."

#measles #Florida #DeSantis #JosephLadapo #healthcare #vaccines
/3

"The measles situation in Florida is, in other words, an urgent problem for the state that the state should be urgently addressing.

But on all things measles, the state’s health department has been mostly silent. ...

Florida is the stark outlier—and has been headed in this direction for some time."

#measles #Florida #DeSantis #JosephLadapo #healthcare #vaccines #MAGA
/2

"Out of the 30 states where measles has been detected in 2026, Florida currently ranks third in case counts. Since the start of the year, at least 132 confirmed or probable cases of measles have been reported across the state, where vaccination rates have consistently fallen below the threshold required to prevent outbreaks."

~ Katherine J. Wu

#measles #Florida #DeSantis #JosephLadapo #healthcare #vaccines #MAGA
/1

theatlantic.com/health/2026/03…

Florida Is Trying to Ignore Measles Until It Can’t

The state is in the midst of an outbreak, but its health department has been mostly silent.

^{Katherine J. Wu (The Atlantic)}