Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of Dr. Joseph Ladapo as Florida’s new surgeon general earlier this week and made waves in his first few days as Florida’s top doctor.
Ladapo announced Florida is “done with fear” and signed off on new health department COVID rules for students in Florida’s public schools. Among the new rules is allowing parents to decide if their child should stay home from school if exposed to COVID and show no symptoms.
Critics of DeSantis, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Congressman Charlie Crist (D-FL-13), immediately blasted the selection calling it a “slap in the face” to those who have lost their lives to COVID.
“@GovRonDeSantis appointing Dr. Joseph Ladapo — an anti-masker and vaccine skeptic — as surgeon general is a complete slap in the face to the families of the more than 50,000 Floridians who have died from COVID,” said Crist on Twitter.
.@GovRonDeSantis appointing Dr. Joseph Ladapo — an anti-masker and vaccine skeptic — as surgeon general is a complete slap in the face to the families of the more than 50,000 Floridians who have died from COVID.https://t.co/e0HvZQmjXZ
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) September 21, 2021
However, Ladapo has spent much of the COVID pandemic fighting against the universal efficacy of face masks, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates. Ladapo has been a part of America’s Frontline Doctors (AFD) whose infamous video from July 2020 was removed by Facebook, Google, and Twitter for “sharing false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19.”
Remember this press conference on the steps of the Supreme Court – doctors touting hydroxychloroquine, prompting praise from then-President Trump and Google, Twitter, and Facebook to take the video down?
Florida’s new Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, was a speaker. 👇 pic.twitter.com/wDQHNkkNXn
— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) September 21, 2021
One of the goals of the AFD is to “help to amplify the voices of concerned physicians and patients nationwide to combat those who push political and economic agendas at the expense of science and quality healthcare solutions,” according to its website.
Most recently, Ladapo has served as an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and earned his MD from Harvard Medical School. Ladapo also earned a Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard and did a residency at the Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center.
Important to point out here – Dr. Ladapo does come with a very serious medical background.
Wake Forest, Harvard, etc.
Here's a part of his CV. pic.twitter.com/nBfXXW6M1x
— Jay O'Brien (@jayobtv) September 21, 2021
In October 2020, Ladapo penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal entitled “Masks Are a Distraction From the Pandemic Reality” where he said viruses inevitably spread.
“Mask mandates may also have unintended consequences that outweigh the benefits,” he wrote.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo gives remarks” by Governor Ron DeSantis.
