TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Covid-19 task force officials voiced concerns Tuesday against recent actions taken by Florida's surgeon general.
"We have a serious problem have trying to deal with misinformation," Rev. Dr. RB Holmes, pastor of the historic Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, said.
Dr. Holmes held a news conference Tuesday at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church addressing recent actions taken by Florida's Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo.
"When the surgeon general raises issues about science and masks... I think you can not let it be a distraction it outta be a motivator," Dr. Holmes said.
Dr. Holmes said he was disappointed when he heard Dr. Ladapo choose not to wear a mask at a recent event when a state senator Tina Polsky asked him to.
Polsky was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer and is now immunocompromised.
Dr. Ladapo addressed this in a recent statement on Twitter saying in part "I would never knowingly be disrespectful to anyone."
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) October 26, 2021
He added in the statement that spoke with Polska about holding the event outdoors to address her concerns.
He says he chose not to wear a mask because he feels it hinders his ability to get his messaging across.
Dr. Holmes said Dr. Ladapo's actions send the wrong information about the effectiveness of masking.
"No preventive measure for covid is completely effective," Dr. Donald Axelrad, associate professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at FAMU, said.
He said vaccines aren't 100% effective, so wearing a mask is the second best way to add another layer of protection.
The governor's office responding in a statement applauding Bethel missionary's work.
COVID-19 vaccines are freely available to all eligible Floridians at hundreds of convenient locations: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/vaccines/vaccine-locator/__;!!FJkDyvWmnr4!Kcoljo64jiDndyC6WEb_hC8ppiJ0czbVHczFaAraodBHnNYqOfK7WzN1p4bofen9DWlX03dg$ . Florida is above the national average in vaccination rate, and Bethel Missionary Baptist Church has helped achieve this with their important work educating the community about the vaccines.
