Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo recently suggested that part of the reason why measles cases are increasing in the Sunshine State could be due to people who oppose abortion. The seemingly strange claim enraged some Florida residents, who believed that he was incorrect in these remarks.
As reported by Florida Phoenix, Florida had 141 confirmed measles cases as of July 23, a problem that came up during a recent interview with Ladapo. According to him, most of the cases were traced to a private Roman Catholic college, and the religious beliefs of those involved may have contributed to them not being vaccinated.
Ladapo argued that components of the measles vaccine are made using cell strains that originated from human fetal lung tissue in the 1960s. This link to fetal cells could make some anti-abortion religious people decide not to take the shot. Curiously, Ladapo, who has been known for being skeptical about vaccines, said: “Oh no. Everyone’s got to take a vaccine” when asked about it.
Florida Surgeon General Slammed By Locals
The Florida Surgeon General’s response attracted attention on Reddit’s r/Florida. The most upvoted comment in the discussion started with a user saying, “Wait, what?” which summarized how strange these claims seemed to most residents. Someone else called this “the most Florida thing I’ve ever seen.”
Some folks were visibly irritated by these remarks, seeming to believe that the official was trying to distance his work from the outbreak, and said: “If this were still a functioning government and electorate, this guy being Surgeon General would have resulted in a recall election for the entire state government that allowed him to be appointed.”
However, others seemed more understanding of the explanation: “He means some people believe that taking the vaccine is immoral because it was made using cell lines that were originally derived from fetal tissue from an elective abortion that took place back in the 1960s, even though Catholic teaching explicitly states that it is acceptable.”
Others blamed the local Republicans for the problem: “Kinda makes sense, abortion opposition is mostly people who are right/far right in their political beliefs, it’s the same group that is anti-vaccine. Could be poorer educational levels and higher conservative religious views as the cause.”
While the cause of the outbreak remains under scrutiny, Florida health officials continue to monitor for new cases as criticism of the surgeon general’s comments continues online.
