Donalds might retain Joseph Ladapo as surgeon general — Jolly says he’d fire him

Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds reiterated Tuesday that he remains open to reappointing Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo if he wins the Nov. 3 election.

That marks a clear distinction with Democrat David Jolly, who has vowed to fire Ladapo on his first day in office.

Ladapo has served as the state’s surgeon general since September 2021, when he was already known as a skeptic of COVID-19 vaccines.  He also opposed mask mandates and advised against COVID vaccinations for healthy children in 2022.

It was a little over a year ago that Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced their plan to drop all required vaccine mandates for children, including those required for school attendance such as polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, and chickenpox. The Republican-led Legislature opted to retain most vaccine requirements established in state law, but Ladapo does hold the authority to remove four vaccine requirements by rule changes.

Those proposed rule changes were finally released by the Florida Department of Health last month. The rule proposes to remove hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), haemophilus influenza Type b (Hib), and pneumococcal conjugate virus vaccines for public school attendance.

Speaking in Daytona Beach Shores, Donalds said he agreed with those proposed rule changes.

“We’re going to leave those vaccines as informed consent,” he said. “The last set of vaccines that are now required for kids are now MMR, polio, and a handful of others that were passed by state law. For those vaccines, we’re going to conduct a full review and analysis with all parties at the table.”

Donalds added that neither he nor his family took a COVID vaccine, although he acknowledged, “There are a lot of people who did for various reasons.”

Ladapo told the Florida Voice last month that he “would be honored to continue serving under a Byron Donalds administration.”

The two Republicans did have a difference of opinion this summer in response to the measles outbreak in Florida. Donalds has said it might be happening because “of rampant illegal immigration into the United States from the previous [Biden] administration. “

Ladapo suggested the outbreak was related to abortion opposition.

The Phoenix previously reported that the Florida Chapter of the American College of Physicians wants a formal hearing regarding the state’s proposal to weaken vaccine requirements for Florida schoolchildren.

“The Chapter requests that the Department take note of its interest in this issue and to accept this correspondence as part of the official record,” Jacksonville health care attorney Christopher Nuland wrote on behalf of the association and its 10,000 members.

“Numerous scientifically vetted studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of these immunizations, while the Chapter is unaware of any substantial competent evidence that would indicate otherwise.”

Polls taken a year ago showed that removing all vaccine requirements in Florida schools was not a popular idea.

A James Madison Institute survey released in September 2025 of 1,200 registered Florida voters found 62% against elimination of all vaccine requirements, with just 29% in support. And a survey of 631 registered Florida voters, also conducted in September by Bendixen & Amandi International, found 60% opposed ending vaccine mandates and just 37% supporting it.

The DeSantis administration would not have to go through the rulemaking process had members of the Legislature gone along with its proposal to eliminate the mandates. While a proposal (SB 1756) did get through the Senate, it died because there was no companion bill in the House.

For more than a year, Jolly has received standing ovations on the campaign trail when he tells audiences his first order of business if elected would be to fire Ladapo. “We’re going to bring back science, data, math, vaccines, and public health and all the other things that contribute to human progress,” he has said.