By Jefferey Jaxen

Florida’s pandemic response direction under Governor Ron DeSantis and State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has just trail-blazed another path by announcing significant changes to Florida’s COVID-19 guidance. In what it calls ‘Buck the CDC,’ DeSantis and Ladapo appeared on a Rumble video to lay out their initiative.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been silent on updating its mask guidance to reflect the longstanding science or reflect the waning virus threat ending COVID-era restrictions around the world, Florida’s ‘Buck the CDC’ plan offers three new developments.

The Florida Department of Health is recommending against the forced masking of employees.

Doctors are allowed to practice medicine to treat COVID in the way they think is most appropriate to care for their patients. This ‘right to try’ stance includes using off-label products along with the ability to file a complaint with Florida’s agency for healthcare administration in the event a treating physician receives any pushback from hospitals.

And finally, the state is updating its daycare and school quarantine guidance to five days for school kids who test positive for COVID. The same recommended guidance will also extend to all Floridians.

The CDC is currently experiencing its biggest crisis the agency has faced in modern times as many are calling out the unscientific and politically motivated slants on their recommendations.

Vinay Prasad, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, recent wrote a piece titled How the CDC Abandoned Science in which he states,

“…[their] research is plagued with classic errors and biases, and does not support the press-released conclusions that often follow. In all cases, the papers are uniquely timed to further political goals and objectives; as such, these papers appear more as propaganda than as science. 

He continues,

The CDC’s use of this technique has severely damaged their reputation and helped lead to a growing divide in trust in science by political party. Science now risks entering a death spiral in which it will increasingly fragment into subsidiary verticals of political parties.

The CDC has taken increased scrutiny in its latest chapter of willful data obfuscation by refusing to publish data it has collected on booster effectiveness for 33M Americans aged 18-49. The CDC are also being criticized for failing to publish their information about child hospitalization rates and comorbidities in regards to COVID.

Even former CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield has been vocal slamming the agency’s ‘politicalization of how the data is presented’ in a recent interview on FOX news’ The Story with Martha MacCallum.

Jefferey Jaxen

Jefferey Jaxen is a health journalist and featured in his weekly segment, ’The Jaxen Report’, on The HighWire. As an investigative journalist, researcher, and compelling writer, Jefferey serves as Lead editor of The HighWire News and Opinion Team.

Other Headlines

Coronavirus

ICAN Releases Recordings of FDA’s Peter Marks; Vaccine Official Dismissed Vaccine Injuries

The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) and REACT 19 held a joint press conference today to reveal a trove of secret recordings and FOIA documents of Peter Marks, the former Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. The press conference included ICAN Founder Del Bigtree, Attorney Aaron Siri, and REACT 19’s Brianne Dressen.Continue reading ICAN Releases Recordings of FDA’s Peter Marks; Vaccine Official Dismissed Vaccine Injuries

More news about Coronavirus

Health & Nutrition

New Fluoride Study Ignores Neurotoxicity and Sugar Intake in Cost Analysis

A new fluoride study has been criticized for being a tool of the industry to promote continued water fluoridation following the banning of the practice in Utah and Florida. The authors conducted a simulation model and cost-effectiveness analysis with data from 8484 children with a mean age of 9.6 years. The authors concluded eliminating fluorideContinue reading New Fluoride Study Ignores Neurotoxicity and Sugar Intake in Cost Analysis

More news about Health & Nutrition

Vaccines

HHS Terminates Moderna Contract For Bird Flu Vaccine; Calls mRNA Technology “Under-Tested”

HHS has terminated a $766 million contract with Moderna to develop an mRNA bird flu vaccine. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the decision is about “safety, integrity, and trust.” He added that “mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimateContinue reading HHS Terminates Moderna Contract For Bird Flu Vaccine; Calls mRNA Technology “Under-Tested”

More news about Vaccines

Science & Tech

Humanoid Robots Malfunction and Attack; Sparks Debate Over AI Safety and Liability

A viral video released from an undisclosed Chinese factory shows a humanoid robot malfunctioning and attacking the factory workers. The Unitree H1, a product of the Chinese company Unitree Robotics, can be seen flailing its arms as workers move away to protect themselves. The robot was hung on a crane, and the workers were notContinue reading Humanoid Robots Malfunction and Attack; Sparks Debate Over AI Safety and Liability

More news about Science & Tech

Environment

CDC Advised Health Care Providers Not to Test East Palestine Residents for Chemical Illnesses, Lawsuit Alleges

Newsnation reported this week that the CDC advised local health care providers in East Palestine, OH, not to test local residents for chemical illnesses after the town was exposed to a toxic plume from a “controlled burn” after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in 2023. A lawsuit has been filed against Norfolk Southern and moreContinue reading CDC Advised Health Care Providers Not to Test East Palestine Residents for Chemical Illnesses, Lawsuit Alleges

More news about Environment

Policy

HHS and CMS Urge Changes to Gender-Affirming Care for Minors; Clinics Face Potential Loss of Federal Funding

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote a letter addressed to healthcare providers saying he expects them to update their “treatment protocols and training to ensure that care for children with gender dysphoria is evidence-based.” The letter was also addressed to healthcare risk managers and state medical boards. The letter refers to the report publishedContinue reading HHS and CMS Urge Changes to Gender-Affirming Care for Minors; Clinics Face Potential Loss of Federal Funding

More news about Policy