TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — 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 posts in recent months.
The departures come as public health becomes increasingly politicized, with some experts saying it leaves the state facing a “serious health risk.”
Late last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a alert after four cases of malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes, were found in Florida for the first time in two decades. As a result, the Florida Department of Health issued a mosquito-borne disease advisory.
DeSantis’ hands-off approach during the height of the covid pandemic made him a star among conservatives nationally, and he regularly touts his strategy in his 2024 presidential campaign. But the approach has also earned Florida the reputation from being ground zero for how the division is treated in public health administration.
The openings are in the Florida Department of Health’s Office of Epidemiology, which plays a key role in controlling and fighting the spread of disease in the state.
The open positions include the bureau chief, who 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.
The position not only focuses on coordinating the detection and prevention of diseases that spread throughout the state, but also promotes immunization and runs the refugee health program, which provides health services to refugees who end up in Florida after to be resettled in the United States.
“These are critical public health functions,” said Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease expert and professor at Florida International University. “Unfortunately, there has recently been a politicization of the use of vaccines and health services for refugees and other immigrants, which may explain the challenges in filling this vital position.”
A second key post, the manager of the office’s surveillance division, has been vacant since March, when Thomas Troelstrup left to take a job with a private company. The division he previously led is tasked with tracking the spread of communicable diseases and houses Florida’s reportable disease data system.
“The political issues related to COVID-19 surveillance and reporting also help explain the challenges in identifying a person to head the surveillance division of the Bureau of Epidemiology,” said Marty, who advised the former Miami County mayor. -Dade, Carlos Giménez, now a Republican member of Congress — during the pandemic.
“Not filling these vital positions is a serious risk to the health of Florida,” he said.
Neither Weiss nor Troelstrup returned requests for comment.
Jason Salemi, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida, said the open positions are “immensely important positions.” He said it’s important to find qualified people for the roles, which can be difficult.
“While it is vital to fill these positions in a timely manner, it is also critical to find the right people to fill these roles,” he said. “One thing I know is that the work continues.”
Florida Department of Health spokesman Jae Williams confirmed the positions are vacant. He said it’s a notoriously difficult industry to find qualified applicants, and that DeSantis’ recently signed budget gave the department nearly $19 million that can be used for recruiting.
“Epidemiology is a highly competitive field,” he said. “The budget includes more than $18.6 million in budget authority for the Department of Health to further assist in recruitment and retention.”
A spokesperson for DeSantis’ office did not directly respond to questions, but referred NBC News to responses from the state Department of Health.
Williams said Florida still has public health experts throughout the state, including at county-level health departments, which are overseen by the state Department of Health.
“The department employs hundreds of epidemiologists across the state, including within the 67 county health departments, who work around the clock to protect the health of Floridians and quickly respond to any public health risk,” he said. .
Williams also noted that state epidemiologist Carina Blackmore is still on the job and Florida surgeon general Joseph Ladapo has a Ph.D. in public health from Harvard University.
Marty said there are epidemiologists all over the state, but “there should be a central evaluation of the data to help provide the right resources in the right place at the right time.”
Ladapo, who heads the state Department of Health, was appointed by DeSantis in September 2021 after openly questioning the effectiveness of Covid vaccines, a skepticism he has continued to dispute.
Although DeSantis was originally a vocal supporter of Covid vaccines, he eventually began referring to them disparagingly as “shots” and took formal steps to limit their use in the state. That includes things like making Florida the only state in the country not to reorder Covid vaccines for children and asking the Florida Supreme Court to investigate vaccine “wrongdoing.”
DeSantis has defended his approach to the pandemic response since announcing his run for president on May 24. That includes regularly hitting out at former President Donald Trump, who is widely seen as the GOP darling, for speeding up Covid vaccines and failing to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, who, as former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, became the face of the Trump administration’s pandemic response, but is now despised by the Republican voter base.
“We held the line when freedom itself hung by a thread,” DeSantis said last month at Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual roast and ride fundraiser. “We refuse to allow our state to descend into some kind of Faucian dystopia, where people’s livelihoods have been ruined and their freedoms restricted.”
Marty, the disease expert at Florida International University, said DeSantis’ approach to public health could not only deter qualified public health officials from wanting to take jobs in Florida, but could also put the state at risk. .
“Being blind to data that helps assess emerging outbreaks delays proper response and resource planning,” he said. “These delays can and will cost lives, negatively impact disability adjusted life years, and cause damage to society and the economy.”
