TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Dr. Joseph Ladapo will continue to serve as Florida’s surgeon general under Governor Ron DeSantis. The governor announced the decision in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon that included a sizzle reel of memorable quotes from Dr. Ladapo’s tenure as surgeon general.
“Dr. Ladapo has done a great job as @FLSurgeonGen. His evidence-based principles serve as a counterweight to the increasingly political positions of the entrenched medical establishment, especially on schools, masks and mRNA shots,” DeSantis tweeted. “Happy to announce he’ll return for our 2nd term!”
Dr. Ladapo has done a great job as @FLSurgeonGen. His evidence-based principles serve as a counterweight to the increasingly political positions of the entrenched medical establishment, especially on schools, masks and mRNA shots.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 14, 2022
Happy to announce he’ll return for our 2nd term! pic.twitter.com/q5ZuyeTiFG
Ladapo expressed enthusiasm and optimism for the future in a tweet responding to DeSantis’ announcement.
“Thanks for the love, Gov. It has been a privilege & pleasure to serve under your leadership. I have a feeling the best is yet to come😉 I look forward to continuing my service to the great people of Florida alongside my incredible team at @HealthyFla,” Ladapo wrote.
PROTECTING CONFUSED TEENS
In June, Ladapo penned a letter to the Florida Board of Medicine asking it to establish new rules for gender-confused minors seeking “complex and irreversible procedures.”
“Florida must do more to protect children from politics-based medicine,” Ladapo wrote. “Otherwise, children and adolescents in our state will continue to face a substantial risk of long-term harm.”
On October 28, a joint legislative committee voted to approve a new rule that will protect minors from harmful procedures designed to “transition” boys and girls into the opposite gender, such as hormone or puberty blocking drugs and surgeries designed to remove the uterus, penis or breasts.
RECOMMENDING AGAINST COVID VACCINES
Unlike most mainline physicians, Dr. Ladapo has been skeptical of the media drumbeat that COVID vaccines are “safe and effective.”
“How can you force people to take a vaccine in order to stop transmission when that vaccine is not effective at stopping transmission?” he said about the controversial shots. Dr. Ladapo and Governor DeSantis have been unified in their opposition to vaccine mandates.
On October 8, Dr. Ladapo recommended against 18–39-year-old males taking a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. The unprecedented move was based on an analysis performed by the Florida Department of Health, which indicated that men of this age group have suffered an 84 percent increase in heart-related deaths during the 28-day period following vaccination.
Prior to his appointment as surgeon general, Dr. Ladapo worked as a professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his Ph.D. in Health Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
