Florida Department of Health
{{Short description|State health agency of Florida}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name = Florida Department of Health
|type = Department
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|logo = Florida_Health_logo.png
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|formed =
|preceding1 = Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services
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|jurisdiction = Government of Florida
|headquarters = Tallahassee, Florida
|coordinates = {{coord|30.39|-84.23|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}}
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|chief1_name = Joseph Ladapo
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|website = {{URL|www.flhealth.gov/}}
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The Florida Department of Health is responsible for protecting the public health and safety of the residents and visitors of the state of Florida. It is a cabinet-level agency of the state government, headed by a state surgeon general who reports to the governor. The department has its headquarters in Tallahassee."[http://esetappsdoh.doh.state.fl.us/contactussearch/DOHContacts.aspx Florida Department of Health Contacts]." Florida Department of Health. Retrieved on October 26, 2010. "Administration 4052 Bald Cypress Way Tallahassee , FL."
History
During the 1996 legislative session, the beleaguered Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services was reconstructed as two entities: the Department of Health and the Florida Department of Children and Families.[http://www.healthfinder.gov/orgs/HR0752.htm "Florida Department of Health - FDOH"] United States Department of Health and Human Services website
The Florida Department of Health{{Cite web |last=Bush |first=Janice |date=2024-01-05 |title=MyAccessFlorida – New Portal Apply Online {{!}} Florida DCF |url=https://www.myaccessflorida.com.co/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=MyAccessFlorida |language=en-US}} operates county health departments in all 67 of the state's counties. The agency employs more than 17,000 persons. It has worked on two-year-old immunizations, tobacco control, and statewide preparedness response efforts.
The Florida Department of Health is responsible for public health, including:
- Epidemiology
- Investigating foodborne illness and zoonotic and waterborne diseases
- Emergency preparedness and bioterrorism
- Controlling communicable disease
- Health promotion and education
- School health. The department manages the school health services program in cooperation with the Florida Department of Education. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including DOH and local school districts.{{cite news | title=School Nurses | publisher=Space Coast Medicine and Healthy Living | location=Merritt Island, Florida | pages= 21–33 | date=March–April 2009 }}
- Women's health
- Public health dentistry and oral health
- Nutrition
- Vaccinations/preventable disease
- Eliminating health disparities
- Provision of vital records
- Environmental health
- Medical Quality Assurance
- Epilepsy
- Chronic disease
- Spinal cord injury prevention programs
= COVID-19 =
On 15 February 2023, the department published a safety alert from the State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo warning of “a novel increase” in adverse event reports related to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.{{Cite web |last=Communications Office |date=2023-02-15 |title=Health Alert on mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Safety |url=https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2023/02/20230215-updated-health-alert.pr.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216173659/https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2023/02/20230215-updated-health-alert.pr.html |archive-date=2023-02-16 |access-date=2023-02-16 |website=Florida Department of Health |language=en}} The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) subsequently published a public response to Ladapo and the department, offering rebuttals to his "misinterpretations and misinformation" related to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.{{Cite web |last=Califf |first=Robert M. |last2=Walensky |first2=Rochelle P. |date=2023-03-10 |title=FDA and CDC Response to the Florida Surgeon General |url=https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0313-letter.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701185027/https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0313-letter.html |archive-date=2023-07-01 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |language=en-us}}
On 10 May 2023, Ladapo issued an open letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky accusing their agencies of withholding information regarding the true rate of adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines.{{Cite web |last=Ladapo |first=Joseph A. |date=2023-05-10 |title=Letter to Robert Califf and Rochelle Walensky |url=https://www.floridahealth.gov/_documents/newsroom/press-releases/2023/05/20230510-florida-department-of-health-letter-to-fda-and-cdc.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701182730/https://www.floridahealth.gov/_documents/newsroom/press-releases/2023/05/20230510-florida-department-of-health-letter-to-fda-and-cdc.pdf |archive-date=2023-07-01 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Florida Department of Health}} Ladapo issued another letter on 6 December 2023, asking the FDA and CDC to address reports of "nucleic acid contaminants" discovered in samples of Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.{{Cite web |last=Ladapo |first=Joseph A. |author-link=Joseph Ladapo |date=2023-12-06 |title=Request for Information on COVID-19 Vaccines |url=https://www.floridahealth.gov/about/_documents/12-06-2023-DOH-Letter-to-FDA-RFI-on-COVID-19-Vaccines.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106202109/https://www.floridahealth.gov/about/_documents/12-06-2023-DOH-Letter-to-FDA-RFI-on-COVID-19-Vaccines.pdf |archive-date=2024-01-06 |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=Florida Department of Health}} The FDA dismissed his concerns as "misleading" and stated that the agency stood firm in its regulatory decision making.{{Cite web |last=Marks |first=Peter |date=2023-12-14 |title=Final Florida Surgeon General Response |url=https://www.fda.gov/media/174875/download |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106201544/https://www.fda.gov/media/174875/download |archive-date=2024-01-06 |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=Food and Drug Administration}} On 3 January 2024, Ladapo called for a statewide halt of the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.{{Cite web |last=Farrell |first=James |date=2024-01-03 |title=Florida Surgeon General Calls For Halt In Covid MRNA Vaccines—Citing Debunked Concerns |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/01/03/florida-surgeon-general-calls-for-halt-in-covid-mrna-vaccines-citing-debunked-concerns/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107024033/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/01/03/florida-surgeon-general-calls-for-halt-in-covid-mrna-vaccines-citing-debunked-concerns/?sh=15defb622a8b |archive-date=2024-01-07 |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=Forbes |language=en}}
References
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External links
{{Portal|Florida}}
- [http://www.flhealth.gov/ Official website]
- [https://www.floridasalaries.org/department-of-health Florida Department of Health Salaries]
- [https://www.tipsjournal.com/florida-medical-license-lookup-physician-doctor-verification-online/ Verifying Florida physician license online]
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{{Health departments in the United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florida Department Of Health}}
Category:State agencies of Florida