Joseph Ladapo

Joe Ladapo
Surgeon General of Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 21, 2021
GovernorRon DeSantis
Preceded byScott Rivkees
Personal details
Born
Joseph Abiodun Ladapo

(1978-12-16) December 16, 1978 (age 45)
Nigeria
EducationWake Forest University (BA)
Harvard University (MD, PhD)

Joseph Abiodun Ladapo (born December 16, 1978)[1] is a Nigerian-American doctor serving as the surgeon general of Florida since 2021.[2] He is best known for his opposition to COVID-19 mitigation measures,[3][4][5] and promotion of COVID-19 misinformation, for which he has been rebuked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[6] Ladapo has promoted unproven treatments, opposed vaccine and mask mandates, questioned the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and contradicted professional medical organizations.[7][8]

After immigrating to the United States from Nigeria, Ladapo earned an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Health Policy from Harvard University. He served as a professor of medicine at New York University before being tenured at the University of California, Los Angeles, prior to his appointment to his current position by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Ladapo has opposed gender-affirming care and counseling for transgender and nonbinary minors.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (February 23, 2022). "The Doctor Giving DeSantis's Pandemic Policies a Seal of Approval". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "State Surgeon General | Florida Department of Health".
  3. ^ Thorp, H. Holden (October 21, 2022). "Remember, do no harm?". Science. 378 (6617): 231. Bibcode:2022Sci...378..231T. doi:10.1126/science.adf3072. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 36228020. S2CID 252897783.
  4. ^ Diamond, Dan (October 11, 2022). "Experts slam Florida surgeon general's warning on coronavirus vaccines". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "US agencies debunk Florida surgeon general's vaccine claims". Associated Press. March 11, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cohen, Li (September 23, 2021). "Florida's new surgeon general opposes mandates, calls COVID-19 vaccines "nothing special"". CBS News. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Mower, Lawrence; Wilson, Kirby (September 21, 2021). "New FL surgeon general opposes mask, vaccine mandates". Miami Herald.
  9. ^ Migdon, Brooke (April 20, 2022). "Florida health dept. says gender-affirming care should not be provided to minors". The Hill. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  10. ^ "Transgender youth treatment under fire in Florida again". Associated Press. June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  11. ^ Caputo, Marc (June 2, 2022). "DeSantis moves to ban transition care for transgender youths, Medicaid recipients". NBC News. Retrieved June 4, 2022.