Florida’s new surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Lapado, refused to mask up Saturday while in the office of a state senator fighting breast cancer.

Appointed by Gov. Ron “I can be Trumpier than Trump” DeSantis, Lapado denies the efficacy of masking, vaccines, and quarantining for those with COVID-19. In other words, he’s another science-denying Republican, now in charge of public health in Florida. 

When Lapado arrived at a meeting Saturday at Sen. Tina Polsky’s Talahassee office, he, along with two aides, were offered masks, but they refused to put them on. 

“It was so shocking to me that he treated me in this manner,” Polsky told CBS News. “If he is a surgeon general for the next several years, I am really concerned about a future public health emergency and not being able to rely on him for necessary guidance and proper scientific leadership.”

During a press conference Thursday with DeSantis, Lapado showed his loyalty as a true lapdog to the governor, opposing vaccine mandates over some inane conspiracy about the federal government hiding evidence that people are getting adverse side effects from vaccines.

Nearly 91% of side effects reported by people after getting vaccines were not serious, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. The most frequently reported symptoms were headache (22.4%), fatigue (16.5%), and dizziness (16.5%). 

Would it be too much for Florida’s surgeon general to read a stat or two? And more importantly, the long-term side effects of having COVID-19 are obviously a lot more frightening than the vaccine itself. 

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Lapado has called the pandemic and COVID-19 “Covid mania,” saying it has “wreaked havoc on science and its influence on policy,” and disparaged the use of masks, mandates for children, vaccine passports, and lockdowns. 

Florida Senate Leader Wilton Simpson excoriated Florida’s top doctor for his insensitive and irresponsible behavior in the meeting with Polsky. 

“It shouldn’t take a cancer diagnosis for people to respect each other’s level of comfort with social interactions during a pandemic,” he said. “What occurred in Senator Polsky’s office was unprofessional and will not be tolerated in the Senate.”

Under DeSantis’ rule, Florida has become a bastion of anti-vaccine rhetoric. Now, the governor is welcoming with open arms (and a handsome signing bonus) all law enforcement officers who’re refusing vaccines in their home states.

DeSantis went on Fox News Sunday and declared any cops who aren’t  “being treated well” should come to the Sunshine State and “we’ll treat you better.” The governor offered a $5,000 relocation bonus to any unvaccinated officer who wants to join the force in Florida. 

“We’re actually actively working to recruit out-of-state law enforcement because we do have needs in our police and our sheriff’s departments,” DeSantis said in his “Sunday Morning Futures” interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.

DeSantis says he hopes to sign a bill in the next legislative session urging officers in New York, Minneapolis, and Seattle to come on down to Florida and continue spreading the COVID-19 love to his citizens. 

In March, Florida Democrats launched “Ron Be Gone,” an organization working to remove DeSantis from the governor’s office and support the eventual Democratic nominee in 2022. 

”Florida needs leadership that puts people first, not wealthy donors and special interests. We are going all over Florida, meeting voters and educating them about how Ron DeSantis has failed on every issue — from our economy to our health care, from our schools to small businesses, he’s never looked out for us,” the Ron Be Gone site adds.