Jacksonville FL — On Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Dr. Joseph Ladapo would be nominated as the next Florida Surgeon General. According to the governor’s office, Dr. Ladapo was recently granted a professorship at the UF College of Medicine and he also holds an MD from Harvard Medical School among other academic accomplishments.
Dr. Ladapo says he would bring three beliefs to the table in this position: rejecting fear in policymaking, making it clear when facts and opinions are communicated, and never losing sight that public health has multiple parts.
“Our interest in public health with truly be public health, it will not be one thing or whatever the flavor of the month is”. Dr. Ladapo says.
He would need to be confirmed by the state Senate, and if that happens, he would take over for Dr. Scott Rivkees who stepped down.
The pick by the governor is getting slammed by Florida Democrats, as they are calling Dr. Lapado someone who’s anti-vax and anti-mask. In a statement, they say in part, that the governor is playing games with people’s lives and appointing someone who has trafficked anti-vaccine and anti-mask rhetoric. We’ve put their entire statement below.
“There has been no governor who has been more pro-COVID than Ron DeSantis and his newest hire, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, is further confirmation of that. Instead of going with a trusted advocate for science, DeSantis is once again playing games with peoples’ lives by appointing someone who has trafficked anti-vaccine and anti-mask rhetoric. The American people are ready to return to normalcy and the DeSantis playbook of prolonging the pandemic is dangerous and wreaking havoc on his own state.”