JOSEPH LADAPO

CVS Pharmacy tells us many stores here in Central Florida have already begun rolling out the vaccine.

Florida's top doctor is now going against the CDC when it comes to the updated vaccine for COVID-19.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s top health official are directly contradicting federal health recommendations and warning residents against the new COVID booster.

Thursday morning in Jacksonville, during a Coronavirus-themed news conference at a Southside Irish pub, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo urged a crowd to trust Gov. Ron DeSantis on COVID-19 “instead of all these PhDs and MDs.”

Statistics from Florida’s Department of Children and Families show 44 children have died so far this year in our state.

An analysis that was the basis of a highly criticized recommendation from Florida’s surgeon general cautioning young men against getting the COVID-19 vaccine omitted information that showed catching the virus could increase the risk of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the shot.

U.S. health agencies have sent a letter to Florida’s surgeon general, warning him that his claims about COVID-19 vaccine risks are harmful to the public.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced a package of proposals Tuesday to make permanent bans on COVID-19-related restrictions in Florida, from mask requirements to medical professionals’ ability to disagree with those COVID-19 restrictions.

A group of University of Florida medical-school faculty members challenged controversial guidance by state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on COVID-19 vaccinations, but a university official said Wednesday the guidance is outside the scope of Ladapo’s work with the school.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on the Florida Supreme Court to impanel a grand jury to investigate any wrongdoing involving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Doctors will no longer be allowed to provide treatments such as puberty-blocking medications, hormone therapy and surgery to transgender people younger than 18, under rules approved Friday by the Florida Board of Medicine and the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine.

With concerns rising about a possible winter surge of cases, a panel of experts has unanimously voted to add the COVID-19 shot to the list of recommended vaccines for children.

Tuesday on Twitter, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo stated that regardless of what the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) decides, “nothing changes in FL.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a news conference in Lakeland.

The Florida Board of Medicine voted Friday to adopt state guidelines that would ban and restrict gender dysphoria treatments for children and adolescents.

The Florida Board of Medicine is set to discuss state guidance against gender-affirming treatments for children at its upcoming meeting.

State Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, is set to hold a news conference Thursday discussing the reopening of a children’s vaccination site in Maitland after it was postponed due to a lack of shots.

Hours after State Sen. Randolph Bracy announced a plan to host a COVID-19 vaccination event for children, he said they are postponing it.

The World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus cases rose by 18% in the last week, with more than 4.1 million new cases reported globally.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday held a news conference at Broward Health Sports Medicine in Fort Lauderdale.

Florida’s health care agency will hold one public hearing on a proposed rule that would stop Medicaid payments to gender-affirming treatments for children and adolescents.

Florida health officials have asked the state medical board to draft new policies that would likely restrict gender dysphoria treatments for transgender youth.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the drop of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for athletes competing in the Special Olympics in Orlando.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo wrote members of the Department of Health’s board about gender dysphoria treatments for children and adolescents Thursday.

Nearly eight months after News 6 submitted a public records request seeking emails and other communications created by Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo during his first two weeks on the job, the Florida Department of Health released eight pages of un-redacted documents.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference in Sanford.

The Florida Department of Health is withholding records of Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s communications during his first two weeks as Florida's surgeon general.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a “No Patient Left Alone” bill into law Wednesday, establishing in-person hospital and nursing home visitation rights throughout the state regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo says the state will formally recommend against COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuked reports that he admonished a group of mask-wearing students who stood behind him at a news conference in Tampa.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will hold a news conference Thursday morning at Florida State University Panama City.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo have announced new coronavirus policy recommendations that discourage mask wearing and push physicians to use off-label medications to treat the virus.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has been officially confirmed to his position.

Ladapo was confirmed on a party-line vote of 24 to 15, with Democrats saying Ladapo was dangerously unqualified, while Republicans said he was a man who “looked at the facts,” as one senator put it.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo declined to disclose whether he has received a coronavirus vaccine during a contentious confirmation hearing where Democrats pressed the state’s top doctor to promote the shots.

A former supervisor of Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo declined to recommend Ladapo to lead the state’s health department during a background check, records show.

A Senate committee signs off on the confirmation of controversial state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discussed the recent decision made to cancel state-run monoclonal sites at a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Miami.

With the continuation of long lines for COVID-19 testing, one local leader is calling on the state to help Osceola County residents.

The Florida Department of Health issued new COVID-19 testing guidelines Thursday in an effort to alleviate sites seeing high demand as the omicron variant continues to fuel new cases.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday the state will send “up to a million” at-home COVID-19 tests to nursing homes and long-term care facilities this week.

Saying that the “federal government is not going to come through” on a plan to distribute at-home coronavirus tests, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said the state is honing its own strategy to send tests to vulnerable Floridians.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday held a news conference in Jacksonville, which was delayed by a group of citizens and activists who wanted to question the governor about his pandemic policies, to put more political pressure on the Biden Administration to release more monoclonal antibody treatment doses to Florida.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four bills Thursday at a car dealership in Brandon, Florida, aimed at pushing back against federal COVID-19 mandates.

Florida Republicans have approved a sweeping bill to hobble coronavirus vaccine mandates in businesses.

Florida Republicans have approved a sweeping bill to hobble coronavirus vaccine mandates in businesses.

Florida's surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, is now responding days after he was asked to leave a meeting with Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky — who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer — because he refused to wear a mask.

Florida's top health official was asked to leave a meeting after refusing to wear a mask at the office of a state senator who told him she had a serious medical condition.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference in Titusville Wednesday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is gearing up for another legal fight with the federal government as President Joe Biden plans to release an executive order that will mandate companies with more than 100 employees to require vaccinations for workers or submit them to weekly COVID-19 testing.

First Lady Casey DeSantis has stepped down as chairwoman of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet, four days after it was announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer, the governor’s office said Friday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced Florida parents will now have the choice if they should send their child to school if they were exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Florida’s new surgeon general has signed new protocols allowing parents to decide whether their children should quarantine or stay in school if they are asymptomatic after being exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.