Should Florida doctors be allowed to deny care to patients--including children--who are unvaccinated? Should they be forced to do so?
News and views for Florida's Left Coast
Should Florida doctors be allowed to deny care to patients because it “violates their conscience or morals”?
They can, indeed. In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill giving physicians that discretion. Inspired by COVID-19 regulations that he found objectionable, DeSantis said he wanted to ensure that doctors can “follow the data, not dictates.”
But now he’s in the mood to dictate.
In a joint news conference with his surgeon general, Joe Ladapo—the same presser where they vowed to make Florida the only state in the nation without childhood vaccine mandates—DeSantis said it’s wrong for doctors to follow the data when that leads to denying care to unvaccinated children.
Currently, some pediatric clinics in the state insist that parents who have decided to leave their children vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses by not vaccinating them should “find another health care provider who shares your views.”
According to a report on Yahoo News:
The American Academy of Pediatrics guidance tells doctors that dismissing patients can be acceptable when “less drastic alternatives are not feasible.”
Dr. Rana Alissa, the president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said seeing unvaccinated patients requires special precautions and could risk staff and other patients being exposed, including children too young to have received some of the recommended shots.
Alissa said physicians aren’t choosing to take fewer sick kids or choosing to take only certain ages of children. Instead, she said, they’re putting their foot down about a public health matter.
“If you’re going to take the public health safety from our community and our state and our neighborhood, at least let me maintain it in my own clinic,” Alissa said.
That seems to be an argument for doctors exercising their conscience, does it not?
Be on the lookout for the state Department of Health to push for new rules when the Legislature convenes.
And while we wait to see if that happens, here are some actual data points that should be alarming:
In 2019, 94 percent of Florida kindergartners were up to date on their childhood vaccinations. Last year, that number dropped to 88 percent as more parents exercised their right to exempt their children, a loophole in current Florida law.
At some point, herd immunity weakens when fewer and fewer people are vaccinated, leaving them more vulnerable to devastating diseases like polio. That’s why vaccinations were mandated in the first place.
Which is why the American Medical Association has condemned DeSantis and Ladapo for their plan to end vimmunization requirements for school children.
Your thoughts? Share them by clicking the COMMENTS button at the bottom of this post.
Oh, the autumn brilliance of our palms
Autumn has officially arrived, and soon all the palm fronds will be turning beautiful shades of red and orange and gold and purple. We’ll be piling them in our yards and diving into those marvelous heaps.
Uh, no, we won’t.
Diving into a pile of needle-sharp fronds may be right up there with “suicide by gator” as among the more uniquely Florida ways to end it all.
But wouldn’t it be cool if our fronds did turn colorful? What a tourist attraction that would be!
I have thoughts on this in my latest column in Florida Weekly. You can read the full report here:
In case you missed it
If you didn’t catch Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue Tuesday night on his return to late night TV, it was a TED Talk on the importance of free speech. Here’s a YouTube link:
Today is …
Sept. 25 is National Comic Book Day. Some comics trivia you can share with your friends to show them how well-read you are:
“The Adventures of Obadiah Olduck,” published in 1842, is believed to be the first comic book.
The 1938 introduction of Superman in “Action Comics No. 1” launched the Golden Age of comic books with heroes possessing supernatural powers as central characters.
That issue of “Action Comics” is extremely valuable if you can find one. While 200,000 copies were printed, fewer than 100 are thought to still exist. One issue sold at auction for more than $6 million.
Thought for the day
During his return monologue from his six-day exile from late night television, Jimmy Kimmel noted that there was a silver lining in it all based on the well-wishes he received from Democrats and Republicans alike. “We found out one thing we can agree upon.” Freedom of Speech.
Florida factual
There are approximately 12 species of palm trees that are native to Florida. The coconut palm is not one of them. None of them looks like maple trees in the Fall.
More online
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J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. When he’s not blogging, he’s in training for the Florida Man Underwater Ping Pong Championships. Forward this email to your friends. They will love you for it.
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Doctors should be allowed to deny treating patients on moral grounds if patients don’t follow public health guidelines. Doctors have an obligation to keep themselves, their staff and other patients safe. There are choices to be made.
Desantis should post a list of Doctors who support his idiocy, so that parents can take their unvaccinated sick children to those doctors rather than infect the others whom DeSantis has made vulnerable. Of course, this is only if DeSantis can find any Doctors who support his policy.
Otherwise, I suggest parents just send their sick kids to DeSantis’s office. Sorry, but I’m getting tired of the worst of us setting policy for the majority of us!