CFO Patronis Op-Ed in Florida Politics: “Gov. DeSantis throws another punch for freedom with K-12 mask EO”
Florida Politics
CFO Jimmy Patronis
August 2, 2021
To read the full Op-Ed in Florida Politics, click here.   
 
Science must always be a piece of policymaking. But science has to be filtered through a philosophy.
 
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order to allow K-12 school parents in Florida to make their own decisions about whether their kids need to wear masks in school is absolutely brazen. It is also common sense.

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First, I am vaccinated against COVID-19 myself and I encourage anyone in Florida to talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated if they have not done so already.
 
I believe vaccines work and I applaud the diligence of our medical and scientific community for coming together to produce this vaccine so quickly.

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We cannot pretend we are still in 2020. We are now in 2021. We have a vaccine now; and it works so well, the vast majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida are of the unvaccinated and a very small number of those cases, according to hospital leaders, are of children under the age of 18.

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But his critics and liberal Democrats are raging.
 
They are yelling that we need to “follow the science” but the science has told us to: not wear masks (2020), wear masks (2020), not wear masks if we are vaccinated (2021), wear masks even if we are vaccinated (2021).
 
Let’s recognize that the “science” has not been consistent. That is why “science” can’t become policy (IE mandates) on its own.
 
Science must always be a piece of policymaking. But science has to be filtered through a philosophy.
 
Thankfully, DeSantis’ philosophy is that Americans are smart; that we care about our families, and we will make good decisions with the information we are given.
 
Last, but not least, the Governor is right when he says the evidence around K-12 school kids wearing masks has not been proven to be significantly safer than K-12 school kids with no masks.

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About CFO Jimmy Patronis 
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is a statewide elected official and a member of Florida’s Cabinet who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida’s firefighters, and ensure the state’s finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and X (@FLDFS).