Florida’s anti-vax surgeon general saved the day Tuesday after a lawmaker fainted while giving a speech at a press conference led by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia was at the podium to discuss a statewide ban on water fluoridation that DeSantis plans to sign into law when she became visibly unwell. “Governor, forgive me, I’ve got to sit down, because I am not feeling well,” she said before beginning to fall. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who has said COVID-19 vaccines are the “Antichrist,” caught Garcia before she hit the ground, easing her into a chair while other lawmakers, including DeSantis, tended to her. Garcia got up and finished her speech minutes later. “Are you kidding? This was my moment,” she said. “Nerve-wracking, but this was my moment. And I so appreciate your grace, Governor DeSantis.” Ladapo has been Florida’s top medical adviser since 2021 and last year called for a halt to administering COVID vaccines, citing a discredited theory the jabs contaminate human DNA. The surgeon general has said that adding fluoride to water constitutes “public health malpractice.”
