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Joseph A. Ladapo (both 1978/1979) is an American physician who is the surgeon general of Florida.

Early life and education

Ladapo was born in Nigeria, the son of a microbiologist. He immigrated to the United States at age five along with his family. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Wake Forest University in 2000. Ladapo received a MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 2008. Ladapo completed clinical training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Career

Faculty

In 2010, Ladapo was a resident in internal medicine, a staff fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Ladapo was with NYU Langone Medical Center. Ladapo was on the faculty of the Department of Population Health at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Ladapo was a staff fellow for the Food and Drug Administration. Ladapo worked as an assistant professor of general internal medicine at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, where he was a health policy researcher. His media interviews included recommendations of flu vaccines along with other advice.

COVID-19 pandemic positions and commentary

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ladapo promoted unproven treatments, opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates, questioned the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and associated with America's Frontline Doctors, a far-right group known for promoting falsehoods about the pandemic. In a March 24, 2020, opinion column in USA Today, Ladapo wrote that he "spent the past week taking care of patients with COVID-19 at UCLA's flagship hospital", an assertion he repeated in a later column published by the Wall Street Journal. However, UCLA staff scheduling records from that time period reportedly did not show him assigned to treat COVID patients, and four UCLA colleagues told MSNBC in November 2021 that they did not believe Ladapo had treated COVID patients there.

Florida surgeon general

Ladapo was appointed as surgeon general of Florida on September 21, 2021, by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He was simultaneously appointed an associate professor at University of Florida Health. He had previously been a vocal supporter of DeSantis's COVID-19 policies. During the fast-tracked hiring process at UF, the Board of Trustees chair, a DeSantis advisor, sent Ladapo's resume to the UF Health president. Some faculty alleged that university administrators downplayed information about Ladapo's controversial views on COVID-19 before a vote on his tenure, according to a draft letter obtained by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.

Asked on the day of his appointment as surgeon general whether he believed that states should promote vaccines, Ladapo said instead that states should promote "good health" and said that vaccines have "been treated almost like a religion. It's just senseless."

In his first days as Florida surgeon general, Ladapo signed an emergency rule that repealed quarantines for schoolchildren exposed to COVID-19.

In October 2021, he refused to wear a mask while in a meeting with State Senator Tina Polsky, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was set to undergo radiation therapy. Ladapo subsequently refused to say whether he had been vaccinated against COVID-19. State Senate President Wilton Simpson sent a memo to all Senate staff and Senators that referred to his actions as "disappointing". Ladapo released a statement six days after the incident, stating that "It is important to me to communicate clearly and effectively with people. I can’t do that when half of my face is covered."

The Florida Senate confirmed Ladapo as surgeon general on February 23, 2022. In March 2022, Ladapo issued a recommendation that children in Florida not be vaccinated against COVID-19. In doing so, Florida became the first state in the US to issue such a recommendation. The recommendation was contrary to that of the CDC.

Recognition

• 2010, Housestaff Research Award, For health services and outcomes research, Johns Hopkins University

References

1. Mazzei, Patricia (23 February 2022). "The Doctor Giving DeSantis's Pandemic Policies a Seal of Approval". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
2. "State Surgeon General | Florida Department of Health".
3. ^ Odunsi, Wale (26 September 2021). "Florida appoints Nigeria-born Joseph Ladapo as surgeon general". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
4. ^ Joseph Ladapo, Curriculum vitae, OpenScholar@Harvard (14 October 2009)
5. ^ Ladapo, Joseph (30 July 2010). "The Doctor's Art". Focus. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2022. Joseph Ladapo, HMS '08, is a resident in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
6. Carvalho, Carlos. "Joseph Ladapo – COVID-19 Interview". Policy@McCombs. McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. with TRANSCRIPT
7. ^ Shivaram, Deepa (22 September 2021). "Florida Gov. DeSantis Taps A New Surgeon General Who Doesn't Support Vaccine Mandates". NPR. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
8. ^ Mueller, Pat. "Joseph Ladapo selected as Florida's new surgeon general". wctv. Retrieved 24 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
9. Goldberg, Carey (13 March 2012). "Should Middle-Aged African Americans Be Screened For Glaucoma?". wbur.org. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
10. "Monthly Newsletter June 2017". General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research. UCLA Health. June 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
11. "With Obamacare, Americans seek more preventive cardiovascular care". Southern California Public Radio. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
12. Joseph A. Ladapo, M. D.; Dave A. Chokshi, M. D. (20 November 2017). "Changes in Cardiovascular Care Provision After the Affordable Care Act". The American Journal of Managed Care. 23 (11). Retrieved 7 January 2022.
13. "Nearly $500 million a year in Medicare costs goes to 7 services with no net health benefits". UCLA RESEARCH BRIEF. UCLA Health. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022. AUTHORS: Dr. Carlos Irwin Oronce, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Dr. Catherine Sarkisian and Dr. John Mafi, all of UCLA, and Dr. A. Mark Fendrick of the University of Michigan. Dr. Mafi is also a researcher with Rand Corp.
14. "Monthly Newsletter May 2018". General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research. UCLA Health. May 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2022. "Physician Prescribing of Opioids to Patients at Increased Risk of Overdose From Benzodiazepine Use in the United States," published in JAMA Psychiatry, found that first-time opioid prescriptions from physicians stopped rising in 2010, though people taking a class of drug that increases the risk for overdoses were likelier to receive a first-time opioid prescription.....Dr. Ladapo and Dr. John Mafi, the study's senior author, were quoted in the coverage.
15. "Coronary artery disease tests steer patients toward healthier habits". UCLA RESEARCH ALERT. UCLA Health. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2022. DISCLOSURE Ladapo serves as a consultant to CardioDx, Inc. Douglas reported receiving grant support from HeartFlow and serves on a data and safety monitoring board for General Electric Healthcare. Hoffmann reported receiving grant support from Siemens Healthcare and HeartFlow. Mark reported receiving personal fees from Medtronic, CardioDx and St. Jude Medical and grant support from Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, AGA Medical, Merck, Oxygen Biotherapeutics and AstraZeneca. Budoff reported receiving consulting fees from General Electric Healthcare. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
16. "Everyone's talking about the flu. Here's what to do about it". Newsroom. UCLA Health. Retrieved 7 January 2022. Dr. Joseph Ladapo, an associate professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been spreading the word about flu prevention. In media interviews, such as a recent one with the consumer review website Consumer Affairs, he has offered practical advice that everyone can manage....
17. Young, Sarah D. (11 January 2018). "Deaths and hospitalizations ramp up during this year's flu season". ConsumerAffairs. Consumers Unified LLC. Retrieved 7 January 2022. "This year, it was not very effective, but it has been effective in other years," Ladapo said. "In fact, for some patients, the flu vaccine actually can decrease their risk of death. We have seen randomized trials of patients with heart disease which show that getting the flu vaccine reduces their risk of having a heart attack or other cardiac event. Amazingly, the flu vaccine in these patients can be almost as effective for preventing cardiac events as taking a statin."{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
18. Cohen, Li (23 September 2021). "Florida's new surgeon general opposes mandates, calls COVID-19 vaccines "nothing special"". CBS News. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
19. ^ Sarkissian, Arek (7 October 2021). "How a doctor who questioned vaccine safety became DeSantis' surgeon general pick". Politico. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
20. "New FL surgeon general opposes mask, vaccine mandates". Miami Herald. 2021.
21. Lonas, Lexi (21 September 2021). "DeSantis's new surgeon general opposes vaccine mandates". The Hill. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
22. ^ Guerrero, Kay (10 November 2021). "UCLA sources: DeSantis's handpicked surgeon general mischaracterized his experience treating Covid-19 patients". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 19 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
23. Ladapo, Joseph A. (24 March 2021). "Coronavirus pandemic: We were caught unprepared. It is too late for shutdowns to save us". USA Today. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
24. Powers, Scott (9 November 2021). "UCLA sources: Joseph Ladapo did not treat COVID-19 patients". Florida Politics. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
25. ^ Schweers, Jeffrey (28 October 2021). "DeSantis mega-donor, UF Board of Trustees chair supplied Ladapo's resume, fast-tracking surgeon general's hire". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
26. Mower, Lawrence; Wilson, Kirby (21 September 2021). "Florida's next surgeon general opposes mask, vaccine mandates". Miami Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
27. "UF rushed Ladapo tenure vote, downplayed COVID-19 controversy, letter alleges". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
28. "Surgeon General asked to leave Tina Polsky's office after refusing to wear mask". Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government. 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
29. Sarkissian, Arek. "Florida's surgeon general nominee won't share Covid-19 vaccine status". Politico PRO. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
30. "Florida Senate president calls Dr. Joseph Ladapo's unmasked encounter with Sen. Tina Polsky 'disappointing'". WPTV. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
31. Company, Tampa Publishing. "Florida surgeon general doesn't apologize, says he can't talk clearly with mask". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 27 October 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
32. Choi, Joseph (24 February 2022). "Florida Senate confirms controversial DeSantis pick for surgeon general". The Hill. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
33. Sarkissian, Arek (23 February 2022). "Florida Senate approves DeSantis' controversial pick for surgeon general". Politico. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
34. Fins, Zac Anderson, James L. Rosica, Lindsey Leake, Liz Freeman, Emily Bloch and Antonio. "Florida to be first state to recommend healthy kids not get COVID-19 vaccine, contradicting CDC". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 8 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
35. Reynolds, Mary C. "Housestaff Research Award Winners of Past Years". hopkinsmedicine.org. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

External links

• Joseph Ladapo, Curriculum vitae, UCLA Health (10 July 2021)
• Joseph Ladapo, Curriculum vitae, OpenScholar@Harvard (14 October 2009)
• Carvalho, Carlos. "Joseph Ladapo – COVID-19 Interview". Policy@McCombs. McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. with TRANSCRIPT RSS

• American physicians
• Florida Department of Health
• Wake Forest University alumni
• Harvard Medical School alumni
• Harvard Kennedy School alumni
• University of California, Los Angeles faculty
• University of Florida faculty
• Nigerian emigrants to the United States
• Living people