Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has left two major public health offices vacant, reported NBC News, potentially jeopardizing the ability to track infectious disease as cases of malaria have begun to spread in the state.
"Two of the top public health officials in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration — responsible for tracking and preventing the spread of communicable diseases — have left their positions in recent months," reported Matt Dixon. "The departures come as public health is increasingly being politicized, and some experts say it leaves the state facing a 'serious health risk.'"
"The openings are in the Florida Health Department’s Bureau of Epidemiology, which plays a key role in monitoring and combating the spread of disease in the state," continued the report. "The open positions include the head of the bureau, which oversees many of the state’s core public health functions. It has been vacant since last month, when former bureau chief Clayton Weiss transferred to the Florida Department of Corrections."
This comes as the Centers for Disease Control posted an alert on four cases of malaria -- a treatable but potentially life-threatening mosquito-borne illness largely controlled in the United States -- in Florida.
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DeSantis largely defined his career by defiance of public health measures in the COVID-19 pandemic, closing the state beaches only reluctantly after weeks of pressure and then reopening them almost immediately. Florida saw some of the worst death rates from COVID during some of the outbreaks, although exactly how much of this was attributable to DeSantis' loose lockdown policies is debated because of the state's large and uniquely vulnerable elderly population.
Even Trump, who himself publicly attacked the idea of public gathering restrictions during the COVID pandemic, has lately gone after DeSantis' public health record as they compete in the 2024 primary, noting that New York saw a less severe mortality under former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.