A Florida doctor got the boot after he was caught selling $50 'opt-out' letters to help kids sidestep mask rules

• A Tallahassee doctor is out of a job after offering to sell $50 mask "opt-out" notes.
• Days earlier, Leon County schools began requiring that students have a medical excuse to opt out.
• Dr. Brian Warden was terminated a local hospital "immediately," according to a spokesperson.

A Florida emergency room doctor was removed from his position after he offered to sell parents $50 "opt-out" letters to help their kids flout the county's newly-imposed school mask mandate.

Dr. Brian Warden, a physician at Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee sparked a flurry of social media condemnation this week, just days after the Leon County school board voted to require students in grades K-8 to wear a mask in class unless they had an approved medical excuse.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Warden was offering his services on a statewide anti-mask site, encouraging Leon County parents to reach out if they wanted a medical exemption letter. In a separate post, Warden reportedly said he would provide signed opt-out letters on medical stationary for $50

Photos of Warden's posts began to spread across social media prompting calls for Warden's ouster from Capital Regional Medical Center.

A spokeswoman for the hospital told Insider that officials "immediately" began the process of removing Warden from his position after learning of the letter offers.

"We act with absolute integrity in all that we do, and it is our expectation that third party providers behave in a way that is consistent with those values," spokesperson Rachel Stiles said.

The hospital's board of trustees were informed of the decision to remove Warden on Tuesday, according to the Democrat.

The newspaper said Warden confirmed he was a licensed medical doctor in his posts, but emphasized that he was not signing the letters as a representative of any hospital or medical group.

Warden did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The doctor's offers came just days after Leon County schools implemented a stricter mask mandate following a surge in COVID-19 cases and the death of an elementary school student in the area. Leon County joined at least nine other school boards across Florida that have chosen to require masks in the classroom in spite of Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on mask mandates.

Several school districts have voted to defy the governor's law, even in the face of continued threats from DeSantis' office and other state education officials.