‘Prescribe freedom’: Ron DeSantis proposes permanent end to COVID mandates in Florida
Heather Hamilton
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is seeking to protect Florida from the “biomedical security state” with legislation to permanently ban COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates.
DeSantis touted his plan to “prescribe freedom” and maintain “protections for free speech for medical practitioners.”
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“When the world lost its mind, Florida was a refuge of sanity, serving strongly as freedom’s linchpin,” the Republican governor said on Tuesday. “These measures will ensure Florida remains this way and will provide landmark protections for free speech for medical practitioners.”
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“It required us over the past few years to stand against major institutions in our society: The bureaucracy, the medical establishment, legacy media, and even the President of the United States who, together, were working to impose a biomedical security state on society,” he added.
Florida State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo supported the move to protect the free exchange of medical ideas.
“As a health sciences researcher and physician, I have personally witnessed accomplished scientists receive threats due to their unorthodox positions,” Ladapo said. “However, many of these positions have proven to be correct, as we’ve all seen over the past few years. All medical professionals should be encouraged to engage in scientific discourse without fearing for their livelihoods or their careers.”
Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis shared an infographic of his plan.
“Across the country, freedom has been stripped from The People in the name of public health,” Casey tweeted. “Not in Florida.”
In addition to permanently banning mask mandates in schools and businesses, the governor’s proposal seeks to prohibit hiring discrimination and school-entry requirements based on vaccination status.
The legislation follows a 2021 Florida bill protecting employees and parents’ rights to make personal healthcare decisions.
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On Tuesday, House Republicans introduced a bill to end the country’s three-year-long COVID-19 public health emergency.